Power of the Reapers (Discontinued)
by Luca and Luna J Winchester
Summary: Ichigo Kurosaki finds himself being thrown into the life of a Substitute Soul Reaper when Rukia Kuchiki and Sayuri Hirai come to Karakura Town. Not only that, but he finds out that his best-friends, Hanako Shizuka Mae and Yuki Araya Hirai, are both half Soul Reaper and half Human, Yuki being the fraternal twin sister of Sayuri. A grand adventure awaits them all...
1. Prologue

_**This story has been on here before but I had decided to take it off just because of my original intention to cancel this whole series. This fanfic had remained on Quotev and I am glad I hadn't deleted it because I started rethinking my decision to cancel this and decided that I will finish it. I already started it so why cancel something so quickly? I made it one of my goals to finish this series someday, that day most likely being several years from now but that's fine because I love a challenge. I will be updating this for the remainder of this month. Expect, at least, three more chapters.**_

 _ **Edited, via Quotev, on 3/21/2017; Errors Were Fixed and Sentences/Descriptions Were Added**_

 _ **Warnings: Errors in Grammar, Spelling, Etc. Out-Of-Character Moments. This Fanfiction Series Contains Original Characters. This Fanfiction Series Follows The English Dub Anime (Like All of My Fanfictions Do). This Fanfiction Series Contains Original Ideas, Some Meant to be Explained in the Far Future. Don't Like That, Don't Complain About It and Just Simply Don't Read It. :) It's As Simple As That. Please, Do Enjoy! You Have Been Warned, For the First of Many Times.**_

* * *

Sōsuke Aizen, a tall man with scholarly chocolate brown hair, falsely soft chocolate brown eyes, and dark-colored square glasses, stood amongst a small crowd in a human park without any purpose. People scurried around him as they hurried to get to their destinations. Aizen let out a small chuckle as he observed the rushing humans. None seemed to sit back and enjoy the moment. "None of them know," he muttered to himself.

"Hey!" someone called out. Aizen turned towards the direction of the mystery person. A young female, whom looked to be about twenty or so, stood across from him. Her long light-sandy blonde hair, almost white, hung down well below her waist. She had blue gray eyes and a small stature, but she most definitely had a big personality. At first, Aizen ignored her since he believed that she couldn't see him and that she was actually speaking to someone else nearby. "Hey!" she yelled at him. Again, the brown haired man ignored her. "Will you answer me?!" She finally got tired of being ignored and actually grabbed onto Aizen, having had enough. She didn't care about the looks sent her way; she never gave a damn about what people thought of her, she didn't care if they thought she was crazy or not.

Aizen stared at the young female with a little bit of shock. No one had ever been able to see him before. At least, no _human_ being had ever been able to. After a moment, he settled down. "You can actually see me," he stated.

The young female sighed, looking quite a bit annoyed. "Obviously, considering that I have been calling out to you for almost a full two minutes."

"What may I do for you?" Aizen asked, trying his best to hurry the conversation along. Although he was slightly intrigued that she was able to see him, he didn't seem all that interested in talking to her for long. She was just an abnormal human at best.

"I wanted to ask you something," the young female stated. Aizen raised an eyebrow and signaled for her to proceed. "W-What is the afterlife like?" she asked timidly. She really wished to know.

Aizen was taken back by the question, having never been asked that before; he had no idea whether or not he should answer her or just leave her without an answer at all. He saw her eyes begin to fill with a sad emotion. He came to the conclusion that either someone in her life or she herself would be dying soon. With a small sigh, Aizen reluctantly answered. "That's not something I can really answer because it's different for every person whom goes to the Soul Society." He began to explain, very vaguely, what the Soul Society was like. The girl listened carefully, taking in every single detail. Time flew by and Aizen found himself explaining a bit more than he liked but for some reason, he couldn't help himself. When Aizen finished, the young female nodded as she thought of the information she just received.

"T-Thank you, sir," she said to Aizen. "You've…really helped me out a lot." She gave Aizen a small smile. "May I ask one last thing?" When Aizen nodded shortly, she asked her question. "What is your name?"

Aizen looked at the young female, really trying to determine where she was trying to go. "Sōsuke Aizen," he answered after a few minutes. "May I ask for yours?" It was only fair if he got her name in return.

The young female gave the man standing in front of her a radiant smile. "Ayako Hirai."

 ** _~Obvious Time Skip~_**

Aizen found himself visiting the World of the Living more often after his encounter with Ayako Hirai. He would find excuses to visit it just to see his new friend, his first real friend. Several years passed by since he had met Ayako and somehow, he couldn't shake the feeling of how important she felt to him. Every moment they spent together, the more attached he grew to her and the more desire for her blossomed inside of him. He had never felt that way towards anyone before and it was such a strange sensation for him to feel.

One evening, he stood outside of the apartment building that Ayako was living in, trying to determine whether or not he should take the leap. "What am I doing?" he mumbled to himself. He felt like such a hormonal teenage human boy, yet he couldn't help it. Something about Ayako just wanted him to make her see him and only him. He had fallen in love and he had never imagined that such a thing could occur.

"Sōsuke!" Aizen turned to see Ayako running down the street towards him. She stopped short a few feet in front of him with a huge smile on her face. "I wasn't expecting you today," she confessed. Usually, there were set days and times for when Aizen would come but today was a true exception.

"I'm sorry for coming unannounced but I wished to ask you something." Aizen watched as Ayako looked at him confused. Butterflies flew around in his stomach, something that only occurred every once in a while whenever he was around her. The young human female seemed to make him feel something he hadn't felt in years; Hell, he never really felt anything like it ever. This feeling, it wasn't something he disliked.

"Oh really? Why don't you come inside and you can tell me?" Ayako, who was followed by Aizen, walked into her small apartment. "Are you hungry? I can whip you something up," she called out to Aizen while walking into the kitchen.

"No, but thank you." Aizen looked around the small apartment, having been in it several times. There was nothing new; the apartment held a small living room with a kitchen off to the side while the bedroom and bathroom sat at the end of the hall. Ayako nodded and went to sit down at the small table that was big enough for two people. Aizen stood several feet from her. As he stood quiet, he tried to figure out how he should tell the young female in front of him how he felt. "Ayako, have… Have you ever thought of a future with…somebody?"

Ayako tilted her head in confusion until her eyes widen as the meaning of the question set in. Blush appeared on her face as she turned away. "…Y-Yes, I have," she confessed.

"I see…" Aizen tried to think about what to say next as the awkwardness set into the atmosphere. The two remained quiet until Aizen and Ayako spoke at the same time.

"I l-" Aizen had began.

"I love you!" Ayako had yelled, confessing her love first. Aizen stood, seemingly surprised but something inside him somehow knew that she felt feelings towards him as well. "Sōsuke, I-I'm sorry. I understand if we can't be together b-but I couldn't help-Mmm!" Much to her surprise, Aizen had strode over to where she sat and kissed her. He pulled back with a smirk proudly on his face. Ayako blushed redder than a strawberry because of the sudden action. "W-What?"

"You just made my quest a little bit easier." Aizen smiled sincerely at Ayako. His smiles were always real when he was around her. "It doesn't matter if our relationship is forbidden. To me." He pulled Ayako into his arms, removing her from her seat. "You are the most important being."

Ayako put her arms around Aizen and smiled. "Same," she whispered...

 ** _~Other Amazing Time Skip~_**

A year passed in the World of the Living. Ayako was going about her daily business when she suddenly felt faint. Her mother, who stood nearby, immediately grew worried. "Ayako, sweetie, are you okay?" Ayako nodded and tried to reassure her mother but suddenly, bile began to rise up in her throat and the young female made her way over to the nearest trash can. Ayako's mother looked at her daughter. "Honey, could you be-?" Her mother was well aware of the relationship Ayako had with Aizen. Although she herself could not see Soul Reapers, she believed they existed and did not find her daughter crazy when her daughter informed her that she was dating one.

"There's… There's no way," Ayako whispered, panting lightly after she had finished releasing her vomit. Was it even possible for her to be pregnant? Her boyfriend was dead but not dead in a sense. If she really was pregnant, would their child be born half dead, all dead, or not dead at all? She wasn't sure how that would work out. Maybe the baby would be completely human but have abilities similar to Aizen's...

"You may want to check. Just to be sure," her mother suggested. Ayako nodded.

That night, Ayako paced back and forth in her small living room. When the timer rang, she made her way into the bathroom. On the sink, a pregnancy test laid and as Ayako lifted it to take a look, she saw two lines in the small window of it. She dropped the test into the sink as the feeling began to sink in. "I-I'm preg..." She was going to be a mother.

"Ayako!" The young female heard her boyfriend call out to her. Trying to hide the test, she looked up towards the doorway to see Sōsuke Aizen standing there and staring at her. "Is something w-" He grew quiet when he saw what laid in her hands; she had gripped onto the pregnancy test in her attempt to hide it. "I thought I felt something," he remarked after a moment of awkward silence.

"What do you mean?" Ayako asked, staring at the man she loved.

"There was a different spiritual pressure mixed with yours. I wasn't sure what it meant. Until now." Aizen stared at the test. He wasn't naive to the objects of the World of the Living like some Soul Reapers.

"What are we going to do, Sōsuke?" Ayaka asked. She was worried. She wasn't sure what to do. She hoped that the outcome would be positive, that their child would be mostly normal, that their child wouldn't be born deceased.

Aizen simply smiled. "This just made things a bit easier." He moved closer to her, moving until the two of them were practically touching. "Ayako?"

Ayako continued to stare at him. "Yes?"

"Will you marry me?"

 ** _~Final Time Skip~_**

Six years later, Aizen stood with two little girls running around him. His wife was smiling at him as she placed their dinner on the table. "Sayuri, Yuki. Time for dinner," his wife called out. The girls giggled as they climbed into the chairs at the table; one of the two children had really short snow-white hair and chocolate brown eyes, the other with long light-sandy blonde hair and dark hazel eyes. "Sōsuke?" Ayako looked up at Aizen, almost as if asking if he was going to stay a while longer. With a small nod, Aizen took his place at the table.

The young family smiled and laughed as they enjoyed their sweet, precious time together. After dinner, they played around until late into the evening. Soon, the children began to fall asleep. Unknowingly, Aizen smiled genuinely as he looked upon them. Ayako came over and picked up Sayuri whom laid a little ways from Yuki, still half-awake. Aizen picked up Yuki whom laid asleep on the floor next to him. "Thank you, Ayako," Aizen suddenly commented. When Ayako, confused, looked at her husband, he began to explain. "For giving me this. A family, something I never thought I would have." He wasn't the kind of person who'd have a family but in the end, he had gotten one. He loved them all and they were a nice distraction for him.

Ayako chuckled a little before smiling. "The same goes to you, Sōsuke." She let out a low, long sigh. "I guess you must go now," she said, a hint of sadness lacing her voice. She knew he had to return to his duties as a Soul Reaper. She was surprised that they had kept their relationship and marriage a secret for this long, praying that it would never be found out. She didn't want anything bad to happen to Aizen if their secret was learnt by the Soul Society.

Aizen nodded as he walked to the girls' bedroom of their apartment with his wife. "Yes, my dear." The two laid Sayuri and Yuki into their beds. Ayako smiled and crossed her arms as she watched Aizen kiss their daughters on their head. He turned towards his wife afterwards. "I promise to return soon," he told her. Ayako nodded. "Be safe." Aizen laid a kiss upon her lips before disappearing into the night.

Not too far away from his home, Aizen was about to open a senkaimon when a sudden loud roar caught his attention. Looking back, Aizen caught sight of a massive hollow that he hadn't sensed until that very moment. "No!" He rushed back to his home in which he had recently left. The hollow quickly disappeared just as fast as it had appeared, leaving nothing but damage in its wake. Aizen stood amongst a crumbled apartment building when he finally reached his destination. Bodies littered the rubble and blood was splattered everywhere, but that didn't matter to him. The captain was frantically searching for his family. He couldn't feel their spiritual pressure or see any signs of them. "Ayako! Sayuri! Yuki!" he yelled at the top of his lungs. He searched for what seemed like hours but nothing came up. Aizen felt helpless for the first time; the ones he loved were just ripped from him in a single moment, the only people he cared about were gone just like that. "Damn it!" he yelled as tears fell down his face, perhaps for the first time ever. "Why?" he whispered angrily. Was this his karma for doing all of those horrid things in the past...? Did he not deserve a family to love because of it...?

Time paced forward as Aizen remained unmoved in the debris of the apartment building. Suddenly, a small movement caught his attention. A small female child with light-sandy blonde hair traveling down her waist appeared within the rubble. Her dark hazel eyes stared up at Aizen as she sat up from the rubble that had buried her. "Daddy?" she softly called out. A broken gray chain was on her chest, indicating that she had died and her death had most likely been caused by being crushed.

Aizen looked surprised as he stared at his daughter. "Sayuri?" Walking over to her, he picked her up. "Sayuri!" He hugged her tightly to his chest and joy slowly began to fill his heart; not all of his loved ones were taken from him. "Do you know what happened to your mother and Yuki?" he asked as he stopped hugging her but continued to hold her in his arms. He needed some hope that maybe the two of them were also still around, that maybe he could find them too.

Sayuri only shook her head. "No, Sir…" Tears welled in her eyes. She remembered the walls caving in around her and her twin sister as she tried to fall asleep before she saw nothing but darkness. She recalled suddenly seeing a bright light and she had gotten out of the debris that had killed her. She was confused and upset over the situation, but mostly confused. She didn't understand what had happened and she'd only be able to understand it once she was older.

Aizen's smile disappeared as reality sunk back in. He only had Sayuri left in his life now. "I see." He thought for a moment. "Sayuri, you're going to come with Daddy, okay?" She had to go to the Soul Society regardless because of her being dead. Her death was both a blessing and a curse; it was sad that it had occurred but now, she could be with her father more often than not.

"Really?" Sayuri stared at her father with wide eyes. He wasn't always around when he wanted to be because of his duties, but now, he didn't need to worry about that anymore.

Aizen nodded, dry tears on his cheeks. "Yes, you'll be safer there and you might even be able to become like Daddy."

"Yay!" Sayuri smiled, her confusion long gone as well as her being upset. "Let's go, Daddy!" The six-year-old was happy once again, what had happened earlier gone from her mind for now. Aizen gave the young child a sad smile. With a quick look at the debris, Aizen left to return the Soul Society and for the first time, he never wanted to return to the World of the Living...

Moments after Aizen had left with his young daughter, there was more movement coming from the debris. Another small female child, one with snow-white hair and chocolate brown eyes, pushed some wood off of herself that shockingly wasn't heavy for her to remove; Yuki, Aizen's other daughter, was still alive somehow, for luck was surprisingly on her side. "...M-Mommy? S-Sayu...?" Yuki looked around, seeing all of the debris. Many tears began to flow down her scraped cheeks as fear set in; she was a young girl, alone in the remains of her home. She winced as she slowly began to stand, her legs and arms injured. "Mommy?! Sayu?!" she yelled as she started to walk around, searching the debris for her mother and sister. She ended up tripping over one of the remains of the other inhabitants of the apartment building. She lifted herself up and dead ahead of her laid her mother, a large piece of debris over her body. Her face was turned towards Yuki and her eyes were open, lifeless. There were deep cuts all over her face and blood was dripping from her extended arm that was not buried under the rubble atop her.

"Mommy!" Yuki got up quickly, ignoring the pain in her legs and arms, and she ran towards her mother. She tried her hardest to push the rubble off of her mother but she was not strong enough to do so, the rubble to heavy for her to lift. "Mommy..." She sobbed as she stopped trying and shook her mother's extended, bloody arm instead. "Wake up, Mommy! Mommy!" Ayako's eyes remained lifeless for she was deceased, no longer a part of that world. Yuki dropped her hand from her mother's arm, sobbing more and dropping down beside her.

"Are you alright?" Yuki turned around quickly to see a light-skinned man with a chin stubble standing there. He was wearing a dark coat, which displayed a white diamond pattern along its bottom half, with a dark green shirt and pants underneath, along with traditional Japanese wooden sandals. A striped dark green and white bucket hat laid upon his head that shadowed over his gray eyes, covering some of his light, almost pale, blonde messy hair. Yuki hesitated before nodding slightly. The man, named Kisuke Urahara, crouched down before her, looking around at all of the debris and corpses before looking back at her. "So, you're the only one left, huh?"

"...Y-Yes...?" Yuki answered uncertainly as she sniffled and wiped her tears, looking away from Urahara. Just like Sayuri, she was confused and she was upset but she was equally both unlike her deceased sister. She seemed to have a better understanding about death than Sayuri, even though the two of them were six-year-old twins.

Urahara seemed to be deep in thought before he placed his hand on her head gently. "It's not safe here. Would you like to come with me? I'll keep you out of harm's way." He wasn't about to leave the child alone. He wasn't cruel and he could tell that there was something very special about the little girl. He was unaware of whom her father was, a man whom he personally knew to be corrupted and he would remain unaware for some time.

Yuki looked up at him, her brown eyes wide. She nodded, trusting the stranger. She wanted to be somewhere safe, somewhere she wouldn't be harmed like this again. Urahara helped her up and lead her away from the debris, leading her down the path to a new, better life...

* * *

Kyoya Mae, a fair-skinned young human male with messy coal-black hair and light hazel eyes, never wanted to be able to see spirits or the Soul Reapers that showed up to kill monsters (which he later had learnt were called Hollows) that randomly appeared every once in a while. For such a very hot-headed young man who was often rude to those he hardly knew, all he really wanted was to be normal like everyone else. He never thought that he'd grow to like his gift. That was until the day he met someone who changed his life forever…

Kyoya had been eighteen when he met Kasai Shizuka, a lovely Soul Reaper with bright fire-red hair and deep reddish dark sky-blue eyes. He witnessed her getting rid of a Hollow and wasn't expecting her to notice him watching her; all the other Reapers never noticed so why would she? He acted rudely towards her, but she did not act the same way towards him; instead, she was kind and she just smiled whenever he said something harsh as she didn't seem to be fazed by his behavior. That day was not the last time he saw her, he had ended up seeing her coming back to Karakura Town often to rid it of any wandering Hollows.

As time went by, Kyoya slowly warmed up to Kasai and was nicer towards her. He eventually began to grow strong feelings for her. Suddenly, she just never returned to Karakura Town. Kyoya was worried and as time passed by, he began to believe that she was either never coming back or she was gone forever…

It was late at night and the moon was shining brightly. Kyoya was in his house, laying on his bed within his bedroom. He was twenty-five years old; he hadn't seen Kasai since he was nineteen (they knew each other for about a year before she never came back), but he never forgot about her nor did he ever stop thinking of her. He stared at the ceiling, wondering what had happened to Kasai. Kyoya was pulled out of his thoughts when the light of the moon was suddenly gone. He looked at his window and saw Kasai standing in front of it. "Kasai?" he asked, unsure if he was just dreaming or if she was really there in front of him. He turned on the lamp that was on the small dresser to his left.

"Hey," she said softly, sending him a close-eyed smile. "I'm sorry for being gone for so long. I'm glad you never forgot about me. You must have been thinking of me often." She was hoping that she was correct because she had missed him terribly herself; she hoped he had missed her, too.

Kyoya sat up in his bed and crossed his arms, faint blush forming in his cheeks. "Pfft, hardly. I just remembered your name and that's it." He was only being stubborn, not wanting her to know that he had indeed thought about her often. He really had missed her. He was happy to know that she was alright.

Kasai opened her eyes and shook her head, her smile never fading. "You haven't changed at all." She knew that he had missed her, he just didn't want to admit it aloud. "I only came to see you one last time. I wanted to see how you were and to tell you I'm sorry for never coming back."

Kyoya looked at her, curious. "Why did you leave without saying anything?"

Kasai blushed faintly and looked at her feet. "Well... Uh... I...thought that it would help me keep from…" He was making her feel like there were butterflies in her stomach; she was really nervous and this feeling was extremely new to her. Her feelings of love for him were still new to her as well. She had never been interested in the concept of love before she met Kyoya, therefore she hadn't thought about what it would be like to love someone. All of these new feelings, feelings that she had felt for a while and feelings that she only just recently began to feel, were just so strange to her but she didn't dislike them.

Kyoya got off of his bed and strode over to her. "Help you keep from what?" he asked her. When she didn't answer, he placed his right hand under her chin and gently made her look up at him. They looked into each other's eyes and they slowly leaned towards one another, quickly getting into the moment without even realizing it. Their lips connected for the first time and remained so most of the night, the two of them showing each other how they felt that long, passionate night…

Because of the passion that had been showed between the newly made couple that one night, Kasai had became pregnant with their first and only daughter. The Soul Society grew knowledge of her pregnancy some time after her return, but none knew whom the father of the child was. Kasai eventually gave birth to Hanako Shizuka Mae at Kyoya's home, the human man having not known of Kasai's pregnancy until she came to him in labor. When the Soul Society quickly learnt that Kasai's lover was human shortly after Hanako's birth, she was not allowed to return to the Soul Society. However, she continued to do her duties as a Soul Reaper while raising Hanako with Kyoya.

Nearly ten years had gone by since then. Little nine-year-old Hanako Shizuka Mae had her mother's lovely long bright fire-red hair, her father's light hazel eyes (although, her eyes were a bit lighter than his), and parts of both of her parents' personality, including a few of her own personality traits. She was at a park with her parents and it was getting late. Hardly anyone was at the park at that time of the day so they were getting ready to head home.

"Hana, sweetheart. It's time for us to head home," Kasai said, getting up from a bench she had been sitting on. She was using a Gigai, or artificial body, and had been using it for nearly ten years since she was not allowed to return to the Soul Society. She wanted to live like a human but continue dealing with Hollows like a Soul Reaper. She wanted to keep her new family safe from harm.

"Aww, do we have to?" Hanako asked her mother, pouting and looking sad. She didn't want to leave. She was having so much fun. She loved all the times she spent with her parents. There had never been a dull moment with them. She loved them very much.

Kyoya took one look at his daughter before looking at Kasai. "A few more minutes couldn't hurt." He was always siding with Hanako. She was Daddy's little girl, after all. His only little girl.

Kasai gave him a look, not amused. She wasn't about to let them have their way this time around. "Kyoya, it's getting late and I don't want to risk anything bad happening." She crouched down in front of Hanako. "We'll come back tomorrow, okay?" Perhaps saying this to her would keep her from getting upset, but she'd have to keep her promise or otherwise, Hanako would end up upset regardless.

Hanako stared at her cutey. "Promise?" she quietly asked her mother.

Kasai smiled and nodded. "I promise." She kissed her daughter's head. "Now, let's get going." Hanako nodded shortly. Before the family of three could start heading home, they heard the roar of a Hollow. Kasai's smile vanished and she lightly, but hurriedly, pushed Hanako towards Kyoya. "Damn it. I was afraid of this," she cursed lowly. This wasn't the best time for her to deal with a Hollow, not with her family around.

"W-What was that?" Hanako asked, never having seen a Hollow or heard a Hollow before. She had, however, heard _of_ them from her parents so she was not completely oblivious to Soul Reaper duties.

"Kasai," Kyoya stated, seriously. He was holding Hanako close to him, holding her protectively. Protecting his daughter was his first, and only, priority at the very moment.

"Get out of here as fast as you can," Kasai instructed. She pulled out a soul candy and popped it into her mouth, jumping out of her Gigai. She pulled out her zanpakuto and looked around; the Hollow was near them, she could sense it but she had no clue where exactly it was. Before she had a chance to pinpoint exactly where the Hollow was, blood splattered. Kasai gasped and turned to see her husband laying on their daughter, covered in blood and deceased; the Hollow was faster than what she had been expecting and it cost her lover's life. "No!" she yelled. She hadn't expected this Hollow to be a bit abnormal.

The Hollow paid no mind to the little girl underneath her deceased father. Kasai attacked it, aiming to get rid of it before it could do anymore damage. However, the Hollow was much more stronger than she and she was killed instantly like her husband, her body dropping down to the ground. The Hollow suddenly disappeared, never to be seen again and its reason for its rare appearances were unknown to all whom had seen or sensed it.

Little Hanako was trying to get out from underneath her father, crying silently as she did, knowing fully well that she had lost both of her parents. She wasn't naive at all about death, her parents having explained it to her over the years until she fully understood; her parents knew that death could happen to them at any moment because of the dangers with Kasai being a Soul Reaper and they were willing to make their young child learn of death far too early because of it. She managed to pull herself out from under him instead, having been unable to push him off. She didn't bother trying to shake her father awake nor her mother whom laid on the ground a little ways from her and her father's corpse; she wouldn't be able to wake the dead.

"All my fault... All my fault..." Hanako mumbled to herself repeatedly as she cried, covered in her deceased father's blood. She sat in a fetal position beside him, her arms wrapped around her legs and her head laying against her knees. If she hadn't complained about staying, they would've been on their way home sooner. Her parents would've been alive still if it weren't for her.

"Ura! Ura, over here!" someone yelled. Hanako sniffled and looked around. She spotted a young girl with white hair running towards her, a man with a weird hat walking behind her and he was managing to keep up with the running girl; they were Urahara and Yuki. Yuki dropped to her knees in front of Hana and wrapped her arms around her, giving her a hug. Hanako sniffled again and blinked in confusion, her eyes on the strange girl hugging her. "This happened to me before, too..." Yuki explained to her in an instant. She had lost her own family, too, in the past.

"...You lost someone like this...?" Hanako asked her. She was surprised that someone else around her age knew of Hollows and Soul Reapers, even though she knew that neither of them were truly meant to know of such things so soon in their life. She hesitated to hug her back; she didn't know the girl and it was odd of her to be randomly hugging Hanako, telling her such a thing that no one would say to a complete stranger.

"Yeah. My mama and my sissy," Yuki stated matter-of-factly. She hadn't hesitated to answer Hanako's question. The two of them were similar to each other and she wanted the poor orphaned girl to know that she wasn't the only one to lose family in such a horrible way. Despite the ways she spoke, she was a bit more mature for her age than she once had been but that was thanks to the loss of her family; she had to learn more things that no kid needed to know about so early. Hanako no longer hesitated to hug her. She wrapped her arms around Yuki tightly and cried in her shoulder. Yuki looked at the corpses of Kasai and Kyoya. "Ura...?"

Urahara was standing beside Kasai's dead body. His fists appeared to be clenched at his sides. "I knew her. We were good friends." He looked at Yuki and Hanako, a frown on his face. He was quite saddened by Kasai's death. "Yes, Yuki?" he asked.

"Can she stay with us?" Yuki questioned. Urahara's shop had become her home the night Urahara took her in. Maybe it could be Hanako's home, too. Maybe she and Hanako could become friends. Maybe they could train to be Soul Reapers together. She knew that Hanako was like her because of the attire that the deceased woman had and because she could feel great power deep within Hanako; she knew that Hanako was both a Human and a Soul Reaper like herself.

Urahara didn't hesitate to answer little Yuki. "I don't see why not." Yuki pulled out of her hug with Hanako and stood up. She helped Hanako stand up, too, and the three of them left, Urahara later having his friend, and co-worker, Tessai take the bodies somewhere else for a private and proper burial...

* * *

 _This will have differences than what has been seen in the anime and manga. It can't be exactly like it, you know, because you'll probably get bored of it easily (though, my other fanfictions have followed anime almost exactly and people have liked/loved/hated them so I guess it doesn't bore some of ya'll amazing peoplez). This series will consist of about 8 to 9 different fanfics (or books). They will follow the seasons and some seasons will be combined into one book. There will even be one completely original story for this series with original ideas and more original characters._

 _Yes, my friend and I had made Aizen very out of character. We believed that he deserved a family, at least. We believed that there needed to be, at least, someone that he actually cared for. We wanted to give him a better reason for him doing what he is doing; we wanted him to have more purpose. Don't like it, then I'm sorry. We were going about this our way. Hate all you wish. :) Also, Yuki is a year older than Hana. So when Urahara and Yuki got to Hanako, Yuki was ten (almost eleven). The forbidden love thing is something that we just decided to add to make things interesting and to show how the main original characters were created._

 _I can admit that Brittany's OC Ayako is a bit of a Mary Sue but hey, shit fuckin' happens. Don't let one character that is more flawed than the rest cause you to no longer read this fanfiction. Don't let your dislike of certain things make you give up on this fanfiction. This is only the Prologue. Judge the story after, at least, reading Chapter One because that means you gave this fanfiction a fair chance at gaining your attention._

 _The first scene was mostly made by Brittany, aka Taiga, and it was edited by me. The second scene was made and edited by me. As of 3/20/2017, Brittany/Taiga is no longer a co-author for this story due to some...issues and her helping me with this ended at Chapter Five. She had vanished but reappeared. She no longer wishes to continue this because the ending of Bleach left a bad taste in her mouth. To me, it shouldn't matter. Regardless of how much you love something, it isn't a priority. It isn't going to end your life's meaning if an anime or manga ends the way you hadn't wanted it to. It isn't real so you shouldn't worry about that shit so much._

 ** _A Cast For The Main Original Characters: Caitlin Glass as Hanako Shizuka Mae, Maxey Whitehead as Yuki Araya Hirai, and Kari Wahlgren as Sayuri Hirai._**

 _Please leave a comment and favorite the story if you haven't already. Updates will be slow after this month (April) is up, but please, do be patient with me because I have other things to do during the day and I work on certain fanfictions at night._ _By the way, if and when you leave a comment, please explain everything you are thinking. Don't leave a short message like "This is stupid and confusing. They are all Mary Sues. Yuck. Fuck this shit. I hate you." Explain yourself so that I am not confused and so that I can respond in a better manner. Guest reviewers will be responded to via beginning author's notes for a new chapter._

 _I DO NOT OWN BLEACH BUT I OWN MY OWN CHARACTERS (HANAKO, KASAI, KYOYA, AND YUKI) AND IDEAS. BRITTANY (WHOM NO LONGER WORKS ON THIS FANFICTION WITH ME AS OF 3/20/17 LIKE I STATED SOMEWHERE ABOVE) DOES NOT OWN BLEACH BUT SHE OWNS HER OWN CHARACTERS (AYAKO AND SAYURI) AND HER IDEAS THAT HAD BEEN USED DURING OUR ROLEPLAY VERSION OF THIS FANFICTION._

 _The cover was created by me using the three pictures of what Brittany and I had for our original characters (what we wish for our characters to look like, Yuki being one that I created on an website on my own)._ _I hope you all have a great day! I apologize for this long ass ending author's note! XD_

 _**Word Count: 6,735**_


	2. Chapter 1: It Begins

**_This fanfiction has be rated M because of violent nature, language, and few suggestive themes. Also, this was rated M just to be on the safe side._**

 ** _Edited, via Quotev, on 3/25/2017; Errors Were Fixed and Sentences/Descriptions Were Added_**

 _ **Warnings: Errors in Grammar, Spelling, Etc. Out-Of-Character Moments. This Fanfiction Series Contains Original Characters. This Fanfiction Series Follows The English Dub Anime (Like All of My Fanfictions Do). This Fanfiction Series Contains Original Ideas, Some Meant to be Explained in the Far Future. Don't Like That, Don't Complain About It and Just Dimply Don't Read It. :) It's As Simple As That. Please, Do Enjoy! You Have Been Warned. Oh and Some Scenes Have Been Left Out Along With Some Dialogue, and Some Dialogue From the Anime Has Been Reworded Along With Some Scenes Have Been Changed by the Slightest.**_

* * *

Two Soul Reapers stood on a house, blending into the night. One of them, who had short raven-black hair that framed her face with a small bang hanging between her dark-purple eyes, looked out into the night. The other, who stood just behind her, waited for her friend to say something. Anything. When all she heard was complete silence, she spoke first instead. "Rukia, I don't feel any spiritual pressure from a Hollow as of right now." That was their reason for being there in Karakura Town, to get rid of any Hollows they came across. They had recently sensed one, but it had vanished without a trace and they've been searching for it for hours.

Rukia turned her head, looking back towards her younger friend. "Neither do I, but it has to be here. We sensed it earlier." The two quickly grew quiet as the night continued on, the two of them remaining in the same exact place. Rukia tried focusing as she looked away from her friend, maybe she wasn't concentrating hard enough to find it. But still, nothing turned up. The Hollow didn't even seem to be in Karakura Town anymore, like it had gotten bored and left but of course, it didn't do that at all; it was likely to return from hiding soon enough for a meal and the two Soul Reapers needed to be ready when it did.

"Great," the unnamed Soul Reaper remarked. She sighed and played around with her long light sandy-blonde hair with one hand. She looked bored and she didn't like the fact that her older friend was taking forever to figure out what to do next while they waited for the Hollow. "And we have to do this for a month," she whispered, growing a tad impatient. She didn't mind waiting usually, but she did mind being bored and standing around doing nothing while waiting was very boring.

"What was that?" Rukia asked, her attention going back towards her friend. She hadn't heard her clearly, catching only a few words: we, this, and a. Her mind had been more centered on finding the Hollow than listening to her friend mumble under her breath.

"Nothing!" the unnamed Soul Reaper exclaimed too quickly.

Rukia raised an eyebrow at her blonde haired friend, wondering about what exactly the female had said that she didn't want to repeat. "I see." She decided to dismiss what had happened and she looked back into the night. "Let's go, Sayuri," she commanded. Without a moment's notice, the two headed off and disappeared into the night...

* * *

It was the next day and the sun was beginning to set. A small group of best-friends stood in the street, trouble brewing all around them. Standing before the three of them were two guys, the third guy was laying on the ground beside his skateboard. The three best-friends had turned the corner and stumbled upon the three skater jerks as they had laughed at the fact that they had knocked over a vase of beautiful white flowers, a vase of white flowers in which had been set out for a kid that passed away.

"What the hell." Ichigo Kurosaki, a fifteen-year-old peach-skinned male, stood tall near the guy he just took down. He had his right hand in his orange spiky hair, his hazel-brown eyes staring lazily at the two guys in front of him that were still standing up. Having left school not too long ago, he wore the boy's uniform for Karakura High (a gray blazer over a collared white shirt, gray pants, and dark-gray shoes) and he was currently very displeased with the sight that he was seeing before him and his best-friends.

"You assholes shouldn't have knocked that vase over," a fifteen-year-old Hanako Shizuka Mae, Hana for short, remarked, her arms crossed and her light-hazel eyes locked on the three punks ahead of her and her best-friends. Her fire-red hair was much longer than it had been when she was younger, passing her mid-back and it was placed in some sort of low ponytail that didn't really help keep her hair in place, but it kept her hair from blowing all around whenever the wind would pick up. She was wearing a school uniform for females (gray skirt, white collared shirt with red bow tie, and gray blazer along with white stockings and brown loafers, though the stockings and type of shoes were optional); it was an uniform for Karakura High, indicating that she was in the same school as Ichigo.

"You guys are so mean…" a sixteen-year-old Yuki Araya Hirai mumbled. She ran her left hand through her short snow-white hair nervously and she, too, had on a female school uniform for Karakura High that was almost completely identical to Hana's except she was wearing black flats. "Hana… Ichi… Are you sure you two wanna do this...?" She disliked violence and somehow was best-friends with two people that tended to fight _a lot_ with other people. Her chocolate brown eyes, much darker in color than they once had been, were looking down at her feet. She closed them for a moment, revealing more of a scar that started above her left eye to below it that she had gotten from some bullies a few years beforehand. She reopened them, only the ends of her scar being shown. She honestly didn't mind having a scar because the day she had gotten it, her friendship with Hana had grown stronger and she had even met Ichigo; if getting a scar was the price to pay to make new friendships and stronger connections, she was fine with it.

Hana took her eyes off of the dudes and turned her head to look at Yuki whom stood to her left. The two of them were standing right behind Ichigo on either side of him, their view of the situation perfect. "I'm not going to do anything to these guys, Yuki. Ichigo can handle them all on his own just fine." Their best-friend was tough, strong; he could easily knock the three punks into next week if he wanted to.

One of the punks moved until he was right in front of Ichigo. His fists were up and he looked very pissed off. His name was unimportant to the three best-friends but he was called Toshi by his own friends. He was an average sized adult, his hair black along with his mustache and his pupils dark. He had several items of jewelry on his person that included bracelets, a gold nose ring, and a necklace, and he was wearing some ugly-ass commando-like trousers, a mostly white t-shirt with a light orange leaf icon on the center of it, and an ugly gray beanie hat with a little butterfly icon on the left side. "You got a death wish, pal? Nobody jumps one of my boys for no reason and lives to tell about it," Toshi angrily commented. Ichigo merely chuckled, his hand still in his hair. "That's all you've gotta say?"

Hana rolled her eyes as she looked back at the punks, mainly Toshi. "Speaking involves saying words, dumbass. He didn't say anything at all. He merely chuckled." How can someone confuse a chuckle with actual speaking? A complete dumbass whom only wants to cause more trouble.

"Oh yeah? Well, I'll make sure he doesn't say anything again!" Toshi took a swing at Ichigo with his right fist. Ichigo didn't bother dodging it, countering it instead with a swift kick to Toshi's face. The punk fell to the ground with a small thud, a closed wound on his left cheek. Ichigo proceeded to stomp on Toshi's back several times without a care in the world.

"Man, he's down!" the last standing punk, Mit, exclaimed. "We gotta help him!" Despite what he was witnessing, he still wanted to help his friend; he wanted to kick Ichigo's ass, he was only just one guy. Mit had a black goatee, some rings on his nose and left eyebrow, and he was wearing a black t-shirt, light-colored trousers, and a light-green beanie with two yellow stripes that was just as ugly as Toshi's beanie.

"Are you crazy? No way I'm taking on that psycho," Yama stated fearfully, sitting up off the ground and crawling backwards to his standing friend, moving far away from Ichigo. He didn't want to fight him after what just happened; he didn't want to get beaten up any further. Yama was wearing a green beanie hat, a brightly colored t-shirt, and dark trousers. He appeared to be younger than his two friends, possibly the youngest of the three.

Hana laughed a little bit, amused. "Good choice~ He'd just kick your ass again if you tried anything~" She loved watching Ichigo frighten assholes. She liked watching him fight in general. He was as tough as she was, maybe tougher.

"Hana, please don't make them angry like the guy on the ground," Yuki remarked, looking at Toshi whom Ichigo was still stepping on. She watched as Ichigo suddenly kicked Toshi's head into the ground, literally. "Ouch…" She couldn't help but think that perhaps Ichigo was going a little overboard with the violence...

Ichigo looked at Mit and Yama. "Now, listen up! Do you see that?!" He pointed towards the vase of white flowers that the punks had knocked over, his eyes still on the two punks. "First question. What do you think that is?" He pointed at Mit. "You! Answer!"

Mit gasped and looked at Yama before looking back at Ichigo and pointing to himself. "Wha-? You talkin' to me?" He gulped and answered Ichigo's question, speaking as fearful and nervous as he felt. "Uh, I guess somebody left those flowers for some kid who got killed here."

Hana nodded shortly as Ichigo quickly went at the two standing punks and kicked Mit in the face, sending him flying back while yelling, "Correct!" He was getting more pissed off by the second about what the punks had did. Any normal human being would find his actions to not only be overboard (like Yuki thought) but also a bit odd since he didn't know the kid during their time on Earth. Those normal folks would have no clue that Ichigo was able to see spirits like his two best-friends, one of the reasons why he had become so close to the females in the first place.

"Wait!" Yama exclaimed, not wanting to get hit again. "Just-!" He was growing more terrified by the minute.

Ichigo stood in front of Yama now, looking at him a bit darkly. "Now, the next question. What is it doing on the ground, knocked over on its side?"

"I-I guess one of us knocked it over…" Yama told Ichigo fearfully, gulping like his friend had before he had been kicked. "We didn't-!"

Ichigo kicked Yama, sending him flying onto Mit. "You guys catch on real fast. Now, apologize and get moving! If I ever see your sorry asses here again, I'll pummel them and the flowers will end up being for you next time!"

Mit and Yama screamed like females, grabbing their skateboards and taking off running in the other direction without Toshi as they repeatedly yelled their apology while they ran away. Just seconds after the two vanished out of sight, Toshi finally got his head out of the ground and he, too, ended up screaming like a female. "We're sorry! We're sorry!" he yelled as he got up quickly with his skateboard in hand. He took off running the opposite direction of the three best-friends, too, as he desperately tried to catch up with his friends that left him behind.

Yuki started giggling uncontrollably. "For mean guys, they have very girly screams." Hana moved closer to Yuki, placing her left hand on Yuki's head as she gently messed with her hair, smiling at her adorable friend whom stood the same height (five foot three) as her. Yuki smiled back sheepishly. For someone her age, she wasn't exactly very mature; she had a mind close to that of a child, an innocent mind-set, but she did have her moments of teenager wisdom that helped her appear less naive.

"Great job, Ichigo. You probably made them piss themselves," Hana remarked, looking towards Ichigo.

He smirked a tad as he turned around to face the two females, strolling back over to where they both stood. The females hadn't been exactly right behind him during the violence-filled situation, the two females standing near where the fallen vase of white flowers were located. Standing in front of them, it was far more noticeable that he was taller than them by, at least, five inches, the height of the females ending by his chin. "Yeah, well, someone had to make sure they didn't show their ugly faces around here again," Ichigo told her.

Hana pushed him lightly the moment he was close enough to her. "Hey, I could have easily taken them on, but I felt that you needed to let out some anger." That was half of a lie; yes, she could've taken those guys out herself but she had wanted to watch Ichigo. She looked towards a pole near where they stood, looking beside where the fallen vase of white flowers was. Ichigo and Yuki looked in that general direction as well. "We're really sorry about what just occurred," Hana apologized.

A young female child appeared beside the pole and fallen vase. Her light-brown hair was up in high bunches that were held in place with cherry hair-bobbles, a long side fringe hanging over the left side of her face. She was wearing a red and white striped v-necked sleeveless shirt with cream-colored shorts. A broken gray chain was connected to her chest, something all spirits had unless they were a Soul Reaper. She smiled up at the three of them. "Thank you so much. I think I may be able to rest in peace now."

" _I didn't really do anything except watch…"_ Yuki thought, biting her lip. She knew how to fight, she learned fist fighting from Hana and sword fighting techniques from Urahara, but she did not wish to harm anyone in any type of way. She only learnt for her own defense, happily willing to fight to keep herself alive in a dire situation but moments ago was nothing she needed to get involved in.

" _Can she really move on without the help of a Soul Reaper?_ _"_ Hana thought curiously. Ichigo was completely unaware of what Yuki and herself were; she didn't feel like it was something he really needed to know. She was tempted to come back to that location in her Soul Reaper, or Soul, form later but she didn't have any soul candy and she wasn't going to pay her adoptive father for something that she could get for free whenever he was generous enough.

"It was no problem," Ichigo told the little ghost girl.

"You deserve to move on peacefully," Hana stated, speaking gently to the girl. "Quite a lot of people don't get that chance." What she meant was that some people tended to die in horrible ways and weren't able to move on in peace so easily and quickly; it took time for them. But there were also people who never needed to move on in the first place, already where they were meant to be after death.

"Thank you!" The ghost girl continued to smile brightly at the three best-friends before she disappeared from their view.

Yuki sighed lowly and frowned sadly. "She is so adorable… I wish people didn't die sooner than they are meant to… It's so horrible..." Additionally, it was deeply saddening to her. She always hated it when someone died, ever since her mother and sister passed away in such a horrible manner. Sometimes, she wished that no one would die but that was something that could never change, so all that she could hope for was that most people could pass on peacefully.

"That is the unfortunate thing about life, I guess," Ichigo said, sighing shortly afterwards.

Hana rubbed the back of her head. "But all the good people of this world tend to end up in a better place once death takes them so don't be too sad about it, Yuki." She looked up at the sky, her parents coming to mind. They weren't at the Soul Society. They were somewhere else; Heaven perhaps, but not the Soul Society. She missed them very much.

Ichigo looked up at the sky. "Maybe this is wishful thinking but I hope there is something up there for her sake," he commented.

Yuki looked at Hana and Ichigo, both whom were looking up towards the sky. She smiled a little to herself before she looked up towards the sky, too. "Well... If there is such a place, hopefully it's wonderful and beautiful." She heard amazing things about the Soul Society from Urahara and Yoruichi Shihōin, a female friend of Urahara's whom became somewhat of an adoptive mother to Hana and Yuki. She heard of the Soul Society's beauty and longed to see it someday, just hopefully not after she died.

"One can hope," Ichigo muttered while still looking towards the sky. After a small moment of silence between him and the females, a sigh escaped him as he turned back to look at his close friends. "I better get home."

"Oh, I should, too! I'll see you both tomorrow! Bye!" Yuki started walking off, waving goodbye as she went. Although Urahara had took her in and raised her as if she were his own child along with Hana, she had ended up moving in with her friend, Orihime Inoue, two years before so that she (Orihime) wouldn't be alone in her home anymore. Hana, on the other hand, was still living with Urahara.

"Bye, Yuki," Ichigo said as he waved goodbye.

"So, Ichi. May I stay over at your place again?" Hana asked, looking at him after she waved goodbye to Yuki. She liked staying at his place. Surprisingly, she found Ichigo's father to be far less annoying than Urahara and that was just one reason why she wished to stay over again. Her second, and main, reason was that she really wanted to spend more time with Ichigo; he was one of her best-friends after all.

"Hmm?" Ichigo looked towards Hana and stared at her, confused. He was always confused whenever she asked that question. He didn't see what was so special about being at his place. "Uh, sure?"

Hana rolled her eyes at him and grinned. "I love your home and your family, Ichi. And stop lookin' so confused all the time when I ask to spend the night. Thought you'd be use to me asking by now." She had been staying with him several days each week for the past three weeks. She wasn't sure what made her want to stay the night in the first place when it first occurred. She supposed it was boredom or that she just didn't want to go deal with Urahara's weirdness that day. Nonetheless, she enjoyed the stay regardless of what occurred and she had been going there more often than not since then.

"I guess it's okay. Just have to deal with Dad again," Ichigo commented. "And I am use to you asking. I just don't see what's so special about my place that would make you want to come over so much."

Hana shrugged. "It's not really your place that I like so much. I just tend to enjoy spending more time with ma bestie is all." She started heading in the direction of Ichigo's home, Ichigo following close behind her. "So, we gotta deal with the usual once again, huh? Your father 'attacks' you as soon as you walk in, you both yell at each other, and then, after he realizes I'm with you, he will either ask us if we are dating or when we're getting married." Annoyance quickly appeared on her face as she finished the last part of her sentence. "That kind of usual, right? Can't wait for that to happen," she added with a hint of sarcasm at the end.

"Yeah, that kind of usual. Honestly, you're just a friend anyway so it doesn't really matter," Ichigo clarified, walking alongside her now.

"When in the hell did I get downgraded from best-friend to just a friend?" she asked him, pouting as they walked.

"What?" he questioned before he instantly realized what he had said seconds ago. "Shit! I didn't mean it like that! Of course you're my best friend, Hana!" he yelled, trying to correct his mistake as he looked at her with slight panic on his face. If it had been someone else, he wouldn't had bothered correcting himself but strangely, he found himself doing so for Hana.

Hana smiled brightly and gave Ichigo an one-armed hug without looking at him. "And we always will be, Ichi." Ichigo returned the one-armed hug shortly afterwards. The two of them arrived at Ichigo's home two minutes later, the both of them pulling out of the long one-armed hug. The very moment when Ichigo opened the door and stepped a foot inside, he was meet with a foot to the face. He landed ass first on the floor. "And here we go…" Hana mumbled, standing by the fallen Ichigo as she side-stepped into the house.

"You let your guard down. You should've been paying attention. Always stay alert when you enter a room. Expect the unexpected, son," Ichigo's father, Isshin Kurosaki, stated as he spoke loudly. He was a tall, muscular man with spiky jet-black hair and brown eyes. He had some thin facial hair around his mouth and upon his cheeks. "And you're late for dinner!" he added. He had yet noticed Hana, his attention fully on Ichigo.

"What the hell, old man?!" Ichigo yelled, standing up and getting in his father's face. "Is that any way to welcome your own son after he just risked his life to help a spirit find some peace?!"

" _Risked his life?"_ Hana thought in question. " _They were just some punks. It would be risking his life if he was trying to save that spirit girl from a Hollow, though. Hell, depending on what type of Hollow it is, Soul Reapers risk their lives to get rid of them."_

"Silence!" Isshin's face was up against Ichigo's. They were both staring angrily at each other. "Oh, so it's the ghost's fault now, is it? I suppose it was ghosts who left your room a mess." The two of them began to throw punches at each other, doing their normal father and son routine. Hana let out a long sigh and walked by them without being noticed, strolling over to the dining area where Karin Kurosaki and Yuzu Kurosaki were. The two young girls were sitting at the food covered table.

"Hey, Karin. Hey, Yuzu," Hana greeted them, standing at the side of the table. She cared about the young girls and tended to speak to them whenever she was over.

Karin looked at Hana, swallowing the food that was in her mouth. Her eyes were dark ebony-gray and her hair was jet-black, straight and cropped to hang around her face just above her shoulders. She had quite a tomboy-ish appearance, wearing a multicolored t-shirt that was similar to a soccer shirt along with black shorts and white shoes. Additionally, she had the personality of a tomboy. "Hey," she greeted, sounding bored.

Yuzu gave Hana a closed-eyed grin. "Hi, Hana. Are you staying over again?" she greeted and asked, sounding cheerful. She had short light-brown hair with short bangs hanging over the right side of her forehead. She was wearing a white apron over a yellow hoodie, dark blue shorts, and dark-colored shoes. She had a more girlish appearance than her fraternal twin and a more innocent personality.

"Mhm," Hana answered. She placed her left hand on Yuzu's head, lighting patting it. "How many times does this make it?" She wasn't certain how many days she stayed over but she knew that she stayed over several days a week for three weeks so far. She guessed that she stayed, at least, more than seven times all together.

"This will be about the eighth time you've ever stayed the night," Karin stated. Behind them, Ichigo and Isshin were still fussing. "You use to just visit from time to time. What changed?" She was a tad curious about Hana's reason for the sudden stays. Not like she really cared or anything, she was merely a little curious about it.

Yuzu opened her soft dark-brown colored eyes, staring at Hana innocently. "Yeah, what made you want to stay over all of a sudden, Hana? Like Karin said, you usually would just visit us every now and then."

Hana crossed her arms. "Well, I don't really know why I started wanting to stay over. I don't know if it was out of boredom or to stay away from my weird adoptive father." The Kurosaki family knew of Hana's parents being deceased, though the children (Ichigo, Karin, and Yuzu) didn't know right away when they had met Hana which was understandable since they were all very young at the time. Three years prior to that current moment in time, while the Kurosaki children were told that Hana's parents had been killed in a house fire a year before they met her, Isshin had long knew the truth since he had ran into little Hana and Urahara occasionally before the children met each other; Isshin was not clueless to what Soul Reapers were since he had once been one before he lost his powers and he had met Urahara around when he (Isshin) became more human, making them friends in a way. "I know, however, that my reasons currently are me most definitely wanting to stay away from my adoptive father and me just wanting to spend some extra time with Ichigo. Plus, I guess you could say that you all became more like family to me."

"I guess that makes sense," Karin remarked before she put more food into her mouth, finishing her rice.

Yuzu looked at Ichigo and Isshin; they were still fighting one another. "Hey. Stop the fighting, you two! Come over here and eat your dinner." She acted almost motherly with how she spoke to her fighting brother and father.

"Let them fight," Karin said. "More rice for me." She held her bowl up to Yuzu.

Yuzu glanced at her. "That's not very nice, Karin."

Karin sighed. "This is so stupid." She placed the bowl back down on the table and stood up, walking over to where Ichigo and Isshin were fighting. She kicked her father in the side, making him stop attacking Ichigo as he held his side in pain, before she headed to sit in front of the television. The father and son 'bonding' was finally over with, for the time being.

"Thanks, Karin," Ichigo commented. He rubbed his face where Isshin had punched him several times.

Isshin rubbed his side, groaning a bit, and he looked towards the dining table. He immediately spotted Hana standing by Yuzu. However, he wasn't really paying attention to the fact that it was Hana because he was more focused on the fact that a teenage girl was there in his home. "What?! Ichigo brought a girl home again?!" He looked at Ichigo. "Why didn't you tell me?!"

"Shut up! You've meet her before! It's Hana!" Ichigo yelled.

"Oh!" Isshin turned back towards Hana and Yuzu. "Well, hello, Hanako! Welcome back!"

Hana waved. "Hiya. Nice to see you again."

"You two spend a lot of time together. Are you sure you aren't dating? Or are you two secretly trying to elope?" Isshin asked, looking between Hana and Ichigo multiple times with a look of suspicion on his face. Although it was part of his personality to ask or say something like that, it was most likely that he wanted his son to date Hana.

"Hmph." With a straight face, Hana walked over to Isshin. Out of nowhere, she kicked him into the nearby wall. "We're not dating, damn it! And we certainly aren't trying to elope!" She was getting tired of hearing that come out of his mouth. It was really getting annoying and it was clear that it was beginning to piss her off. In the beginning, she had thought it was funny but now, she clearly no longer thought it was.

Isshin hit the wall with a loud thud. "Ugh..." he groaned as he fell to the floor, causing Ichigo to burst into laughter. "So similar to my son..." Isshin groaned. "...Perfect for one another..." Even after that assault, he was still mumbling on about Hana and Ichigo getting together.

Hana crossed her arms and let out an angry breath. "I wish you'd get that fact through your damn skull already. We're only really close best-friends, nothing more and nothing less."

Isshin slowly got up and opened his mouth to say something more to Hana but got immediately shut down by Karin. "You may not want to speak, Dad," she warned, annoyed slightly by her father's behavior. More often than not, she was able to handle the way her father was but there were times like that very day where she'd just get quite annoyed with the man.

"Karin! Are you on their side?!" Isshin yelled towards his daughter. "How could you do this to me?! My own flesh and blood!"

"I don't want anything to do with this," Karin remarked before going back to watching the television. She simply had just tried to stop the mess from progressing further and simply failed in doing so, her father having attempted to drag her into the mess.

"I'm heading to your room, Ichigo. I don't want to end up doing anything that I'll regret later." Hana walked out of the living room, heading towards the location of Ichigo's bedroom. She hadn't physically attacked Isshin before, usually only yelling at him whenever he said something. This time, she had gone as far as to kick him into the nearest wall. She didn't know why it pissed her off so much nowadays. She was sincerely confused by her actions.

"Wait, Hanako!" Ichigo followed Hana up to his room shortly afterwards. He found her sitting on the floor, leaning against his bed with her eyes closed. Damn, she had moved fast. "Sorry about that," he apologized to her. Despite that those arguments and fights always occurred within his house, he always felt like he needed to apologize to Hana for the behavior almost every single time.

"Eh, don't worry about it," she replied, dismissing his apology. She usually did that whenever he apologized for, well, anything. Although Ichigo's father was quite annoying, she found his family to be amazing and she cared about all of them. Even though she didn't really show much love towards his dad, thanks to him being irritating.

"Are you sure?" Ichigo asked.

Hana nodded, opening her eyes and looking up at him. "Yeah, I'm sure. I don't know why I suddenly just...snapped. But I did enjoy kicking him into that wall. He sort of deserved it, in a way." She crossed her arms. She only slightly regretted doing that to Isshin, but mostly enjoyed it.

"Yeah." Ichigo walked over to the bed and sat on it, his legs hanging off the bed to Hana's left. "I get that my dad can be annoying most of the time but don't mind him. Just try to ignore him."

"That's really hard to do considering he has such a loud fucking mouth." Hana shook her head, sighing. Ichigo chuckled, agreeing with her without saying so. Isshin was always starting up some kind of shit each time Ichigo entered the house, still doing so even with Hana visiting or staying over. They both didn't think that the man would ever get more mature. The two of them grew silent for a bit, sitting in the dark bedroom with only the brightness of the moon to light up the darkness since it was currently night and neither of them had bothered to turn on a light.

Ichigo broke the silence after about two minutes. "Out of curiosity, do you hate the idea of dating someone?"

Hana turned her head to look at him as he remained sitting on the bed and it took her a few seconds to reply with an answer. "No. I don't hate the idea of dating. It's just annoying for your dad to keep askin' if we are dating, or eloping, when we aren't. I don't care if that is just how he is; it's fucking annoying as shit." She huffed.

Ichigo half-smiled. "Yeah, it is," he agreed. "I've gotten use to it, though. It's just a normal everyday thing to me."

"Oh, I'm sure," Hana stated. She sighed shortly. "Honestly, I don't plan to date until I'm outta school," she revealed to him. Or until she found someone she was attracted to. She got off the floor and went over to Ichigo's closet that was directly across from the bed, opening it up and pulling out a pillow along with a blanket.

"I prefer to do that, too." Ichigo laid down on his bed. "Can't do much if you don't have the grades."

"Mmm hmm," Hana agreed. She let out a long yawn as she sat the pillow on the floor near the closet. She closed the closet door and laid down on the floor, laying her head on the pillow and covering up with the blanket.

"Guess we better head to bed," Ichigo stated, eyeing Hana.

"If you would shut up talking to me, the conversation would die down and we could sleep," Hana informed him. Ichigo rolled his eyes but grinned at her. "Goodnight," Hana whispered. She closed her eyes and rolled onto her side, her back facing towards Ichigo.

"Night," Ichigo replied, laying down with his back on the bed and he closed his eyes, too...

* * *

Ichigo set some new flowers, yellow ones, in a vase of water by the pole for the little spirit girl from the day before. Hana was standing behind him, yawning and rubbing her eyes. "There we go," Ichigo remarked, grinning a tad because of his good deed. He turned towards Hana and the grin on his face vanished. Hana looked exhausted, like she barely even slept. "You alright?"

"Yeah. Just tired and sleepy," she answered honestly. She threw her arms up towards the sky as she stretched. " _Wow, I really am tired. Tired and sleepy mean the same fucking thing. I'm a dumbass when I haven't slept..."_

"Still?" Ichigo questioned, raising an eyebrow.

Hana glared at him a bit. "I had a nightmare, jackass."

Ichigo nodded shortly in understanding. He had nightmares from time to time, too. "Oh. Sorry. What was it about?"

"It doesn't matter. It was just a nightmare." Hana started walking away from him, heading to school. " _A nightmare that I keep having... About my parents..."_

Ichigo shrugged and followed her. "Okay." He had one hand holding his bag and the other was in his school pants pocket. He stared at the back of Hana's head as he walked behind her, thinking about what kind of nightmare Hana could have that would prevent her from getting much sleep. He was a bit worried considering that she was his best-friend, but everyone had nightmares every now and then. So, he hoped she wouldn't dwell on it. It was only a bad dream, but he didn't know it was a dream of her past. As the two of them continued to head in the direction of their school and were in the middle of the town, a sudden loud roar erupted from a direction near them. "What was that?!" Ichigo exclaimed, no longer walking and looking in the direction the roar had came from. The people around them were listening around as well, having heard rumbling.

Hana had froze in place the moment she heard the roar, no longer moving. " _Shit… A Hollow. Why did it have to come now, out of all the times it could appear? I can't do anything!"_

Out of nowhere, a large creature that looked like a bug, and had a white mask, crashed through a building nearby. People in the area started running the opposite direction, terrified because of not being sure about what exactly was happening; they didn't know if it was a terrible car wreck or an earthquake. The Hollow let out another roar while Ichigo gawked at it, no one else being able to see it other than himself and Hana. "What the hell is that?!" he exclaimed. Hana silently turned in the direction of the Hollow as well, staring at it with false and real fear; she wasn't scared of Hollows but she was scared of not being able to protect anyone because she was unable to do anything while her soul remained in her body and she had nothing available to her that would allow her soul to temporarily remove from her body. She really was beginning to regret losing all those Soul Candies she once had; maybe that was why Urahara wouldn't give her more, she'd always misplace it and ask for another and now, she was shit out of luck.

The ghost girl from the day before appeared out of the dust that filled the air, dust that was caused by the Hollow collapsing the building somewhat. She was running away from the Hollow, scared. "Help!" She ran past Hana and Ichigo.

"Run! Hurry!" Ichigo yelled, running after the girl.

Hana didn't hesitate to run after them because she had no choice but to do so. " _I can't do shit without a damn soul candy,"_ she thought. " _I hope the Soul Reaper that is suppose to get rid of these things fucking gets here soon."_

"What is that thing?!" the ghost girl asked Hana and Ichigo loudly.

"I don't know!" Ichigo exclaimed as they ran away.

"Shut up and run!" Hana yelled, rudely. She didn't mean to be rude but she deemed it necessary. All they could do was run; they couldn't do shit to the Hollow. The ghost girl tripped and landed on the ground. " _Are you fucking serious? Why the fuck does this always happen? Someone always has to fucking trip in the face of danger!"_ Hana and Ichigo both skid to a stop. Ichigo ran back to the girl and helped her up, but the Hollow was already very close to them. "Look out!" Hana yelled, although her doing so wasn't going to magically get the ghost girl and Ichigo out of harm's way. The Hollow was going to attack when a Soul Reaper, Rukia, jumped into their line of sight, followed by her fellow Soul Reaper companion, Sayuri Hirai.

With ease, Rukia sliced the Hollow's mask and it, the Hollow, disappeared out of sight for good. "That seemed rather easy," she commented shortly after the Hollow was gone. Sayuri nodded, standing to her right.

"Huh?" Ichigo stared at the two of them, confused and shocked by what just happened.

" _Two Soul Reapers? Two? There's normally just one that comes here every so often… Why are there two this time?"_ Hana thought in confusion. " _Perhaps one of them is a newbie and in training, maybe?"_ This was new to her. And odd. Never had there ever been two Soul Reapers in Karakura Town looking for Hollows.

"Let's go." Rukia was suddenly gone, having flash stepped away from the area. Hana walked over to where Ichigo and the ghost girl stood, staring at Sayuri whom remained.

Sayuri did not leave just yet. She turned to look at Hana and Ichigo. She sent a smile their way. "So, you can see us," she remarked before flashing away to follow Rukia.

Ichigo blinked, confused. "Uh? What the hell?" The ghost girl that was with them suddenly vanished without saying a word to Hana and Ichigo. The two didn't seem to really notice her disappearance, however.

" _Hmm? She noticed that Ichigo and I can see them. That's unusual,"_ Hana thought. She stared at the spot where Sayuri had been standing. " _How interesting..."_ She didn't except that to happen but she was a little glad that it did. Normally, the Soul Reapers that would come to Karakura Town would pay no mind to anyone around them, their minds focused on dealing with the Hollow and then leaving. This was the first time one noticed that someone was watching them.

"What just happened?!" Ichigo exclaimed, looking towards Hana. When she didn't respond, he placed his hands on her shoulders and shook her. "Hana?!" He was worried that she had gone into some sort of shock from witnessing that. "Hey, Hana! Snap out of it!"

She blinked and stared at him, noticing that he was standing right in front of her and was facing her, too. His hands were still on her shoulders. "Huh? What?" She blinked again as she recalled the question he had asked out loud. "Uh, how the hell would I know what just happened? I'm as clueless as you." She continued to stare at him. " _But perhaps more calm about it_."

"I-I didn't expect you to know. I was just wondering out loud." Ichigo moved his hands from her shoulders. "Sorry. You okay? You weren't hurt, were you?"

"It's fine and I'm fine," Hana answered. "So, off to school now, yeah?" she asked him.

"How can you be so calm about this?!" Ichigo yelled in question.

"Because…" She hesitated. What the hell should she say? "...Maybe this was an one time thing. Those two people seem to know how to get rid of those things so if there are more, they'll just get rid of those, too. It's not something we should worry about."

"I-I guess you're right," Ichigo stuttered. She had a point. If there were more, those two beings would just get rid of them.

"Let's just go to school and try to forget that this ever happened," Hana suggested. She started walking again, heading in the direction of the school. She really wanted that conversation to be over with...

Ichigo slowly nodded. "Yeah… Yeah, let's go." He started to follow her, silence between them as they walked...

* * *

Ichigo entered his home, having returned from school. "I'm home," he announced. Hana had walked there with him, but she did not go inside like he did; at least, not through the front door since she wished to avoid something happening like the day before. And it wouldn't be the first time she snuck into Ichigo's house undetected.

"My boy! Welcome!" Isshin exclaimed. Surprisingly, he did not try to punch, kick, or elbow Ichigo anywhere. It was truly a miracle. And a surprise.

"Hi," Ichigo greeted flatly. He immediately started heading to his bedroom, his mind on something else.

"Ichigo, your dinner is ready," Yuzu informed him.

Ichigo paused his movement and made no move to turn around or to move towards the kitchen table. "I'm not really hungry. I'm just going to head up to my room." He didn't want to be around anyone. He couldn't stop thinking about what happened earlier that day. " _What was that thing...?"_

"But it's curry," Yuzu protested. "You should eat some at least."

"I'll have some later. Thanks, Yuzu." Ichigo headed to his bedroom. He opened the bedroom door and went inside, closing the door behind him. Sitting on his bed, by the open window, was Hana.

"Yo," Hana greeted. She huffed out a breath shortly afterwards. She did not seem to be in a good mood but in an annoyed, bored one. She had her legs hanging off the edge of the bed, kicking them around. She had her mind on all sorts of things, namely the thing that occurred that day. She never expected something like that to happen. She knew that Hollows went after the spirits of the departed, but she thought that they'd catch them quicker because of how fast they could be. Why did it run after the girl so slowly? Pushing that thought aside, she tried thinking of something that would take away the boredom she was feeling. God, it annoyed her so much when she was bored.

"You look annoyed," Ichigo stated, placing his bag on the floor. "What's the matter?" He could tell she had something on her mind.

Hana half-smiled. "I am indeed annoyed. I am annoyed because I am extremely bored." She let out a long sigh as she laid down on the bed. "Ugh, today has been such a long day, huh?" That very day had been very different than what usually occurred every day.

"Yeah," Ichigo agreed. "Can I have my bed back now?"

Hana stuck her tongue out at him. "Never. My bed." She grabbed his pillow and hugged it. "And my pillow." She gripped the blanket that laid underneath her. "And my blanket. All mine." She was obviously joking around, trying to get her mind off her boredom and of what occurred that day.

"Get your ass off my bed before I drag you off," Ichigo threatened before smiling a bit. He was joking, of course. He never had truly been mad at Hana before; it was hard for him to be mad at her ever. He definitely wouldn't get mad at her over the fact that she took over his bed. It was just a damn bed. Nothing to fuss over. He didn't care about the blanket and pillow either.

Hana couldn't help but laugh, though she did so quietly to avoid alerting Isshin and the twins, and she sat up, getting off the bed. She gestured towards it. "Your bed, Good Sir," she said, acting as if she were a maid or fancy butler. Ichigo chuckled and sat down, shaking his head at her. She definitely had her moments where she was amusing. Hana moved over to the closet and sat in front of it, leaning against its door. The two of them were silent for several minutes, staring at either each other or around the room.

Ichigo broke the silence as he laid down on his bed, looking at the ceiling. "...I can't stop thinking about what happened earlier." He sighed after he finished speaking of what was on his mind. How could he forget it? A monster had chased them. He wanted to know what the hell the thing was but he also didn't want to know. He wished he could forget it all.

Hana sighed as well. "Yeah, I figured as much. Something like that is very hard to ignore." She wasn't bothered by it since she was use to seeing Hollows and Soul Reapers. Ichigo, however, was bothered a bit by it because he never had seen such beings before.

A small shimmer of movement caught the eye of the two friends. Passing through the wall, the two Soul Reapers appeared. Rukia lept from the night stand and onto the floor with Sayuri following behind her. "It's here," Rukia announced, quietly, oblivious to the two humans now staring at her. Sayuri simply nodded to her friend before looking between the two best-friends with a small smile. Ichigo couldn't help but gawk; two unknown figures just entered his room with no problem and that didn't sit well with him.

Unlike Ichigo, Hana wasn't bothered by the sudden appearance of Rukia and Sayuri. However, she couldn't help but wonder why they were there. " _I don't understand why they are in here... Don't they have Hollows to locate? Why would they need to come here?_ " She bit her lip as she glanced around the room. " _Perhaps they sense Ichigo's spiritual pressure and are confusing it with a Hollow's spiritual pressure. It has gotten a lot stronger recently for some reason. Mmm... And it can't be my own cause I'm hiding it."_

Rukia timidly walked forward, trying to be careful where she stepped. "I feel-" Without a moment's notice, she was suddenly on the ground with her back burning a bit. She had been kicked to the floor by Ichigo, landing in front of where Hana sat on the floor. She had been completely caught off guard and she knew for certain that it wasn't Sakae who did it.

Ichigo was standing behind her, having gotten off his bed and he was pointing in her direction. "What the hell are you doing in my room?!" he yelled. His yell, however, wasn't loud enough to alert his family.

Rukia immediately stood up and turned around to look at him. "You can see me?" she asked, quite a bit confused and surprised. She was beginning to wish that it had been Sakae.

Hana corrected Rukia as she stood up behind her. "Actually, both of us can see you. Both of you, not just one of you, to be exact. And you might want to answer his question before he gets any angrier." She glanced towards Sakae, eyeing her momentarily before looking at the back of Rukia's head again.

Sayuri walked over to Rukia, stepping over the clutter that was a blanket and pillow. Hana had already gotten them out of the closet but she had thrown them on the floor at a random location before she had quickly sat on Ichigo's bed earlier. "See," Sakae started. "I was trying to warn you earlier but no." She made some movements with her hands. "Someone wouldn't listen." Hana watched her again, surprisingly highly amused by her; she liked this Soul Reaper's personality. Ichigo, on the other hand, was the complete opposite of amused, fuming as he stared back and forth between the two Soul Reapers.

"I didn't believe it to be true," Rukia recanted in her defense. It had seemed impossible but now, she was witnessing what was true. She could be seen by them both. She knew of the low possibility of them stumbling upon humans who could see them but she hadn't expected it to actually occur because of said low possibility.

"You didn't answer my question!" Ichigo exclaimed, gaining the attention of all three females. Rukia ignored Ichigo's statement and began to examine him, gripping his face and shaking him all around as she turned him. From head to toe, she looked him over almost as if trying to search for something. "What the hell are you doing?!" Ichigo asked angrily and loudly.

"Maybe you're a defective human." Rukia looked away from Ichigo for moment, deep in thought. Maybe that was the reason why they could be seen. Had to be. She was tempted to examine Hana next to see if she could spot anything good but decided against it. Sayuri smiled at her friend and shook her head.

Hana blinked before laughing at what Rukia had said. "Neither one of us are defective. Trust me. We're as normal as normal can get." Minus a few things that made them not so normal.

"How could you possibly see us then?" Rukia asked. Never has a human seen her. She heard rumors, and facts, about there being few humans who could see them but she hadn't believed them, not all of them. She knew of Captain Aizen finding love with a human female and that was how Sayuri came to be; that was how she knew there was a low possibility of them stumbling across a human with the ability to see Soul Reapers. She hadn't thought a day would come where she herself would encounter a human with such sight. She was curious as to how it was possible for her and Sakae to be seen. Was there something special about them? Or was it just a fluke?

Ichigo pointed to his eyes. "With these, maybe. I'm not blind! What the hell are you anyway?"

"Shall we explain, then?" Sayuri asked Rukia.

With a small sigh, Rukia agreed. "If we must." Rukia and Sayuri began a small explanation about what they were, where they were from, and what they were doing in Karakura Town. They even revealed other things such as how they guide spirits to the Soul Society by preforming Konso and that they call the good spirits Wholes while they call the bad spirits Hollows. Hana and Ichigo silently listened until the very end. Hana already knew everything they said, she just didn't want to reveal herself as a half Soul Reaper just yet. In time, she was going to have to reveal herself anyways because keeping secrets from her best-friend was hard.

"Alright. So, you are both something called a Soul Reaper?" Ichigo questioned for clarification. Rukia and Sayuri nodded. "And you're telling me that you were both sent here on a mission by something called the Soul Society that happens to be where you live?" Rukia and Sayuri nodded again. "To get rid of demons like the one that was on the street earlier today?" Rukia and Sayuri nodded for the last time. "Well, that's all believable to me..." Ichigo suddenly flipped his shit, confusing and somewhat surprising everyone in the room. "Along with flying pigs and the tooth fairy!"

"But it's true," Rukia announced in a calm manner, slightly annoyed at the human not believing her.

"Like hell it is!" Ichigo yelled. He still was not yelling loud enough to alert his family. Somehow.

Sayuri, trying to maybe lighten the mood, cut in. "Hell is a real place also," she remarked. "Not a nice place from what I've heard, though." Ichigo glared at her.

"Well, I believe them," Hana commented, surprising Ichigo greatly.

Ichigo looked towards her and stared in disbelief. "You...! You can't be serious! You actually believe this baloney?!" It was complete nonsense. The two females that entered his room were nothing more than just delirious crazies to him. There was no way that what they were saying was true. Just couldn't be possible.

"I believe it because of the fact that we both see spirits. We believe in spirits because we can see them. Now, we see two Soul Reapers so I believe the information they told us," Hana explained. " _Ichigo will always be an idiot…"_ She held back a smile. " _But that's another reason why I enjoy hanging out with him. Never a dull moment with an idiot."_ She figured he was just in denial. She would be, too, if she weren't born as half of two species.

"It-It's just too out there," Ichigo admitted.

Sayuri stood (she had sat down on the floor during the little speech of her and Rukia's), grabbing the attention of everybody. "You saw the monster from today, correct?" she asked. Ichigo answered with a small nod. "Then, what's so hard to believe that there is something more out there? Everything you witnessed up to this point is evidence enough." She had a very good point that he couldn't argue with.

"Fine." Ichigo pouted slightly.

"You sure can be such a pain in the ass, Ichigo," Hana commented. "It's kind of annoying but-"

"As can you!" Ichigo shot back, interrupting her.

Hana frowned. "I'm a pain in the ass...? Well, sorry then…" She was going to tell him that while he could be a pain in the ass annoyingly sometimes, other times she found it amusing since he was usually a pain in the ass for someone else. He hadn't let her finish, though. Now, she was stuck with trying to figure out what she does that makes her a pain in the ass. Was she too violent sometimes? Too rude? Too quiet? She wasn't really any of those things, not exactly. Sure, she could be rude sometimes, quiet when she wants to be, and violent when she had to be, but was that really a good reason for her to be called a pain in the ass? Ichigo was basically that way, too, minus the quiet part.

"Enough!" Rukia exclaimed. Sayuri sighed slightly, becoming bored with the entire situation.

"We're talking here, midget," Ichigo said.

Rukia felt a vein pop. "M-Midget?" She gave a wicked smile. "Bakudo Number One, Sai!"

Ichigo began to make weird movements until his hands locked behind his back and he was face first on the floor. "What the hell?!" he exclaimed.

Hana looked at Rukia and Sayuri, ignoring that Ichigo was unable to move much. "What was that?" she asked, curious.

"A Kido," Sayuri stated. "It's a high-level incantation that only we Soul Reapers can cast." Hana nodded. She learnt about it from Urahara but wasn't sure if that was one or not since she never actually saw someone preforming a Kido.

"It's useless to struggle against," Rukia informed Ichigo as he squirmed, trying to get free. She still appeared to be very angry with him. "I may appear young to you but I have lived nearly ten of your lifetimes."

"Say, don't you two have a Hollow to deal with?" Hana asked Rukia and Sayuri. She had been sensing a Hollow nearby for many seconds and was confused as to why the two Soul Reapers weren't leaving to go deal with it. They had to have felt it, too, right?

"Hollow?" Rukia looked confused until she felt it. There was a loud roar from outside of the window, not too far from the house. Suddenly, there was a crashing sound coming from down the stairs. "H-How?!" Sayuri was already running out of the room with Rukia about to follow. She stopped for a moment, turning to Ichigo. "You stay here," she commanded.

"Like hell I am!" Ichigo began to show struggle as he fought the forces that were binding him. Slowly, he began to stand up and scream until he eventually broke the Kido entirely. "I have to protect my family!" he yelled before running out of his room without a second thought. He heard Rukia call out to him but ignored it.

"ICHIGO! WHAT THE FUCK?! GET BACK HERE RIGHT NOW!" Hana screamed, running after him. Rukia followed behind her. The three of them got down to the second floor to find Sayuri moving Karin and Yuzu from the rubble to a safer location. Isshin was nowhere in sight so he had to be located in some other part of the household or underneath debris.

"Yuzu! Karin!" Ichigo yelled before running over to his sisters.

"Oh no…" Rukia examined the scene. "Dammit!"

" _I can't believe this is happening…"_ Hana thought. She clenched her fists. She should've known that it could occur in such a manner again; she should've known that a Hollow would come destroying things.

Ichigo turned to where the hollow stood. "You bastard!" He ran out to the street to catch the attention of the monster before him. "Come at me!"

"You idiot!" Rukia yelled.

The Hollow screamed and ran at Ichigo. "No!" Hana yelled. She ran to where Ichigo stood in the street and pushed him out of the way, the Hollow injuring her right arm as it went by. Ichigo blinked in surprise as Hana got off of him from their position on the ground and she held her wounded arm. "Shit, that hurts…" she winced. Ichigo sat up beside Hana and stared at her, more hatred for the Hollow slowly filling his very being. Hana had gotten hurt trying to protect him. And he really did not like that at all.

The Hollow turned to make another attack at the two but it was momentarily stopped by Rukia. "Shit!" she cursed when she realized the Hollow had bitten into her shoulder as her Zanpakutō impaled its mouth. Sayuri shouted towards Rukia but was sent flying towards a wall and was easily knocked out. Rukia pulled her Zanpakutō from the Hollow and collapsed on the ground. The Hollow didn't proceed to kill her, instead backing away and suddenly leaving, disappearing out of sight. Rukia winced as she lifted herself up a tad and moved over to lean against a wall. "I'm too injured to fight. Do you want to save your family?" The Hollow would be back after it regenerated and they didn't have much time before that happened.

"Of course I do!" Ichigo yelled as he looked towards Rukia. Hana watched Ichigo, still sitting beside him. She continued to watch him as he stood up and strode over to the wounded Rukia. She wasn't exactly sure what was occurring. Sure, she knew things about Soul Reapers but not all things.

"This will only be temporary but you must become a Soul Reaper." Rukia lifted her Zanpakutō and pointed it towards Ichigo, her eyes on his standing form. "You must take my Zanpakutō and run it through to the center of your being so that I may pour my powers into you." It was their last resort or they were all dead.

Hana's eyes widened. " _Ichigo becoming a temporary Soul Reaper...? If only I had a damned soul candy, I could get rid of the thing myself... Son of a bitch... Now, he has to deal with all this shit... At least it is only for some time. I don't want him to end up getting himself killed..."_

"If this doesn't work, it won't matter if this kills you or not because we'll all be dead," Rukia informed him.

Ichigo gripped the Zanpakutō blade. "Let's hope this works, then, Soul Reaper."

"It's not Soul Reaper," Rukia said. "Rukia. Rukia Kuchiki," she introduced.

"And I'm... Ichigo Kurosaki!" Ichigo told her.

Rukia plunged the sword into Ichigo with his help as the Hollow returned and it began heading their way. There was a rather large, bright flash of blue as the Hollow grew closer and suddenly, the Hollow's left arm was missing off of its body as the light vanished. Now standing behind the Hollow, Ichigo stood glaring at the Hollow with much hatred. He was attired in a black kimono (Shihakushō) with a white undergarment underneath it, a thick brown belt strapped across his chest which held his Zanpakutō sheath, and grasped in his right hand was a huge Zanpakutō. Hana stared at him in amazement, glad that it worked and also surprised that, well, it worked.

Sayuri awoken from where she laid and she sat up, spotting Ichigo quickly and she became confused as to why she was seeing him in an attire quite like her own. She, then, looked at Rukia and gasped when she saw that Rukia was now in just a white kimono that was slightly stained in her blood. "What the-? Did he take all-?!" Sayuri was confused and surprised at what she was seeing. What the hell did she miss?

"Come here, you bastard!" Ichigo ran at the Hollow as it turned towards him fully and he easily sliced its mask, causing it to disappear completely.

Rukia was surprised herself. "Well... At least it worked," she commented, mainly to herself. Though, she was still very surprised that he took most of her powers. She only meant to give him half. He had stronger spirit energy than what she had originally thought.

Hana still had her left hand over her injured right arm as she remained on the ground, her eyes on Ichigo. "So… He is a Soul Reaper now?" she asked Rukia and Sayuri, wanting to confirm what happened. She knew that things were going to be different from then on if he was going to remain as such for a while. " _Well, not exactly a Soul Reaper but something like a, um, substitute for a Soul Reaper."_

Sayuri nodded, answering the question as she got up from the ground finally. She walked over to Rukia, helping her up as gently as she could. "Yes… He is technically a Soul Reaper now," she replied before looking towards Hana. She let out a loud gasp as she saw that she was wounded as well. "Oh my, your wound! Are you okay?!" She was showing great concern for her., especially since Hana's wound appeared to be kind of deep.

Rukia looked at Hana. "Are you okay?" She appeared to be a little concerned herself, but not as concerned since she hardly knew the female. With some of Sayuri's help, she and Sayuri walked over to where Hana sat.

Ichigo ran over to Hana, quickly remembering her injury. He dropped his Zanpakutō to the ground as he crouched down in front of her. "Hana! Why did you save me?!" He analyzed her wound, feeling a bit guilty about being the cause of why she had gotten hurt in the first place.

"I'm fine. It just hurts like hell." Hana winced slightly as she moved her injured arm slightly. She continued to stare at Ichigo. "And I saved your ass because you are a damn idiot for running out here in the first place. Also, you are my best friend. Besides, it's nothing to worry about. As I said, I'm fine. It just hurts like hell."

"How can I not worry?! Look how bad it is!" Ichigo exclaimed, pointing to the wound as he stared at it. She wouldn't had gotten hurt if he had stayed out of the way.

Hana sighed rather long before deciding that she had to show him something, one of the things she had kept hidden from him all this time. To prove that it was nothing to worry about, she looked at her wound. Her left hand was still over it, blood dripping down her arm and through her fingers. She started to focus on just her hand and the wound, her mind ignoring everything else. Her hand began to glow a bright fire-red and, before any of the three watching her could say anything, the glow was gone and her wound was no more. "See? As I said, nothing to worry about." She did, however, lose quite a bit of blood but not enough to make her pass out or anything. However, some of the blood she lost returned to her body when she healed herself.

Rukia and Sayru stared in surprise at what just occurred, but they were not as surprised as Ichigo. "What the hell?" he questioned, staring in awe at Hana's healed right arm. "Your wound. It's gone." He didn't seem able to grasp the fact that she healed herself just yet. He was just so surprised to learn this new fact about her.

"I'm sorry for not telling you..." Hana started slowly, still looking at Ichigo. "But, um, surprise. I can heal any wounds that are inflicted on me... I am unsure why or how I have this ability but it comes in handy most of the time..." She rubbed the back of her head nervously. "Are...you mad?" She didn't think he'd like that she kept a secret from him. She had a few more secrets but those were going to remain secrets for a little while longer.

"No. Just...very surprised," Ichigo admitted. "And relieved." He was glad that she was alright now. He could feel his worry fade along with his surprise.

Hana smiled gently at him. "Yeah... Of course... You know, even if I didn't have this ability, I would have saved you." Ichigo didn't say anything as he wrapped his arms around her, giving her a slightly tight hug.

"How in the world did you do that?" Rukia asked Hana. Hana simply looked at her as she returned Ichigo's hug and said nothing; she couldn't answer that question because she wasn't sure herself since she didn't know how or why she had that power, like she told Ichigo aloud.

"Rukia. If you dare say that she is defective, there is going to be a problem," Sayuri commented to her friend. "And it will be one long night." Rukia sighed and silently watched as Hana and Ichigo continued to hug one another. Things were certainly going to be different than what any of them were use to...

* * *

 ** _None of the chapters will be short. None of them. 5,000 words over, tops._**

 ** _Word Count: 11,847_**


	3. Chapter 2: Soul Reaper Duties

**_Edited, via Quotev, on 3/27/2017; Errors Fixed and Sentences/Descriptions Added_**

 _ **Warnings: Errors in Grammar, Spelling, Etc. Out-Of-Character Moments. This Fanfiction Series Contains Original Characters. This Fanfiction Series Follows The English Dub Anime (Like All of My Fanfictions Do). This Fanfiction Series Contains Original Ideas, Some Meant to be Explained in the Far Future. Don't Like that, Don't Complain About It and Just Simply Don't Read It. :) It's As Simple As That. Please, Do Enjoy! You Have Been Warned. Oh and Some Scenes Have Been Left Out Along With Some Dialogue, and Some Dialogue From the Anime Has Been Reworded Along With Some Scenes Have Been Changed by the Slightest.**_

 ** _If There Was Any Confusion For Previous Chapter: Brittany and I had agreed to let our three original characters have one special power to make things more interesting. We didn't want to just have the normal Bleach stuff with only the forbidden love of Humans and Soul Reapers to be the only thing not Bleach related. This story will, also, have flashbacks for: how Yuki got her scar from bullies and met Ichigo, how Hana met Ichigo, etc._**

* * *

"Good morning, Ichigo!" Isshin yelled as he proceeded to try and jump onto his sleeping son. He did not succeed, however. Ichigo quickly awakened and stopped his father, knocking him to the floor. Hana stirred in her sleep, very close to where Isshin had landed.

"Are you nuts?! What kind of sick, twisted freak attacks his own son while he's just lying there sleeping?!" Ichigo yelled, clearly pissed off as his left palm remained connected to Isshin's face, his right fist raised. He was glaring down at his father. He was glad his father had yelled so that he woke up before he got hit.

"You are getting good. It looks like there's nothing left for me to teach you, my son," Isshin stated, groaning a bit as he made no move to get up.

Hana grunted angrily as she slowly lifted herself up to be in a sitting position; the bickering of Ichigo and Isshin had awakened her. She was wearing some dark-colored shirt with matching shorts that she kept inside of Ichigo's closet, the clothing being her sleeping attire. "Shut the hell up! I was trying to fucking sleep!" For the first time in a long time, she didn't have the same nightmare; she had dreamt of all her good memories instead of the very bad one. For once, she didn't dislike sleeping and was greatly angered that her good dreaming state had been ruined.

Isshin sat up as Ichigo moved his hand from his face and he looked at Hana, surprised that she was in there; he hadn't noticed her beforehand, like usual. "When did you get here?!" He looked at Ichigo and back at Hana before looking back at Ichigo again with a big smile. "Oh, I see! You snuck her into your room so you could have some private time!"

"Eh?!" Hana exclaimed, sweat dropping and having a vein pop at the same time. Would he ever shut up about that? Probably not. " _Are you fucking kidding me? I should've slept inside the closet..."_

"What the hell are you talking about?!" Ichigo yelled in question. "She snuck through the window to avoid you! That's all! People get tired of your behavior, you know!" He was still glaring at his father, sitting on the floor near him with his arms crossed.

"Oh." Isshin continued to smile and rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry."

"So, how are Karin and Yuzu? I'm sure they are scared after what happened last night." Ichigo waited for his father to answer, sitting impatiently across from him. He was still fuming a bit with anger.

Isshin stared at him, confused. "They're fine and what about last night?" He thought for a moment. "Oh, I see now. You must've seen the truck crash into our house."

Hana and Ichigo both stared at Isshin, confused themselves this time. "Wha?"

* * *

Hana, Ichigo, and the rest of the Kurosaki family stood in front of the house, looking at the large hole that Hana and Ichigo knew the Hollow had created. Hana and Ichigo were both confused as to why only they remembered what happened while Isshin, Karin, and Yuzu did not. "The truck just crashed right in as we were all sleeping," Isshin stated. "Luckily, no one was hurt." He looked at his son. "Why didn't you tell us, Ichigo? You said you saw it happen."

"Wha?!" Ichigo looked away from the large gap in the wall, looking towards his father. "No, I didn't!" Isshin just ignored him.

"How did we sleep through that?" Karin asked, wondering out loud. "Something like this should've woken us." She was thinking realistically about the situation.

"Uh…" Hana sweat dropped. "We're all very heavy sleepers and never realized it?" That was completely untrue but she couldn't come up with a better lie than that. Although, she was a bit of a heavy sleeper sometimes, depending on how tired she was. Karin started heading inside without saying another word.

Yuzu followed her sister but stopped short when she looked towards Hana and Ichigo. "Ichigo, Hanako. You two don't want to be late for school," she said. She smiled brightly, and closed-eyed, at Hana. "I can make you some breakfast, Hana, if you want some." She had already made breakfast for her family but she didn't mind making something for Hana. She, also, didn't question why Hana was there.

Hana grinned and kindly accepted. "Yeah, that would be great." Yuzu nodded, still smiling and she headed inside. Hana looked towards Ichigo. "I'm going up to your room to change into my uniform. Just so you know," she told Ichigo before she headed inside. She didn't want him walking in on her changing. "Oh and I have other clothes in your closet, too!" she yelled to him before she vanished out of sight, heading to Ichigo's bedroom.

"You have spare clothes in my room?!" Ichigo exclaimed. He never noticed them before. Did she have them hidden? Or was he too blind to see what laid in front of his eyes?

"She left some clothes here? I just thought you two had done some stuff when I found a bra in your closet." Isshin patted his son's shoulder. He had a large smile on his face. "Oh, well. I'm sure it'll actually happen someday." He truly believed that Hana and Ichigo would get intimate with each other one day, just as much as he believed the two of them would eventually get together romantically.

A tiny shade of blush appeared in Ichigo's cheeks and he avoided eye contact with his father. It was surprising that he hadn't kicked or punched his father for the comment. "Mind your own business," he mumbled. He headed inside of the house and headed up the stairs until he was outside his bedroom door. He knocked on it softly. "Are you decent yet, Hana?" he asked loud enough for her to hear.

"Almost," Hana answered loudly from the other side of the closed door. Ichigo stood there, waiting another moment or two. "You can come in now." Ichigo opened the door and walked inside. He started chuckling when he spotted Hana standing by his bed, trying to fix the red bow tie of her uniform. "I hate this damn uniform…" he heard her mumble angrily.

"Need some help?" Ichigo asked her, very amused.

Hana looked over at him, pouting with slight blush in her cheeks. "...Yes…" Ichigo walked over to her and helped her fix the bow tie with ease. She pouted more. "No fucking fair. How can you do it so easily? You don't even wear a bow tie or any tie at all."

"Practice from having to help you all the time," Ichigo stated with a smirk appearing on his face shortly after said statement. He was still very amused.

"You don't always help me… I get someone else's help when I am not here…" Hana blushed in embarrassment as Ichigo started to chuckle again. She hit him on the chest with her fists, but not hard enough to hurt him. "It's not funny, you meanie! I just suck at fixing up bow ties!" She made a low growling noise. "I wish I could just wear the damn uniform for dudes..."

"Do you think they went back to where they're from?" Ichigo asked Hana after his laughter died down, suddenly talking about Rukia and Sayuri. It was unlikely that Rukia went back, considering most of her power was in Ichigo now. Sayuri, on the other hand, probably went back.

Hana shrugged at the sudden question. "I don't know. Maybe." She headed towards the door. "You should get dressed. I'm going to go eat. See you downstairs, Ichi." She went out the open door and closed it behind her so that Ichigo could get dressed for school, a small smile appearing on her face as soon as the door was shut...

* * *

Hana and Ichigo walked down a hallway of their large school. Hana was carrying a few notebooks in her hand with her bag on her left shoulder while Ichigo was carrying his bag, the strap of it wrapped around his chest. They were having a small, quiet conversation about what happened that morning.

"How could they forget what happened?" Ichigo wondered, speaking about his sisters. His father hadn't even been seen during the Hollow attack so he must have been sleeping or something. He wasn't sure exactly.

"The Soul Reapers must have erased their memory or changed it somehow," Hana said. "That's the only explanation I can think of for why that happened unless we are just going crazy but that can't be it." Ichigo just shrugged and sighed. " _I recall there being something to replace memories. That has to be why Karin and Yuzu don't remember the Hollow, making them believe they slept through the 'truck crash'. Isshin thinks a truck went through the house while he was sleeping, or while he was doing whatever, since he wasn't even around during the attack. Where the hell was he anyways? Asleep? Under some rubble? I don't remember,"_ Hana thought.

Yuki came running up from behind them. "Hana! Ichi!" The two best-friends in question both stopped walking and turned towards her. She stopped in front of them, panting lightly. "Hey! I heard that a truck crashed into your house, Ichi! Was anyone harmed?!" She looked extremely worried. She hoped that everyone was alright.

"Uh… No, no one got hurt. It, uh, happened last night," Ichigo replied, going along with the false story. "Why are you yelling?" he questioned her, staring down at her curiously.

"Sorry," Yuki replied sheepishly. "I-I was really worried that someone had gotten badly injured." It was in her nature to worry about anyone and everyone. Just as much as it was in her nature to cry whenever anyone died, whether she knew the person or not.

"Everyone's fine," Hana stated. She would have to tell Yuki what truly happened later. "Nothing to be so worried about. It wasn't too bad." Yuki nodded. "We need to hurry or we'll be even more late for class." The three of them started heading down the hallway. As they turned a corner, Ichigo ran straight into Orihime Inoue and caused her to fall on her behind, which caused her to drop her notebook as she fell. Tatsuki Arisawa was standing beside the fallen Orihime.

"Oh, hey Orihime," Ichigo greeted. He didn't make a move to help her up. Hana sighed and Yuki frowned. How inconsiderate.

"I'm sorry." Orihime shifted so that she was sitting on her knees but she did not proceed to stand up or pick up her notebook. Orihime was a big breasted young female with a very slender, yet curvaceous, figure for a fifteen year old teen. Her light chocolate brown eyes stared up at Ichigo innocently. Her burnt-orange hair hung long, reaching her waist and her bangs were tucked behind her ears with blue hairpins, hairpins that were a gift from her deceased older brother. She was dressed up in her school uniform.

"What the hell, Ichigo?! You knock her down and that's all you can say?! You're not going to apologize?!" Tatsuki yelled at Ichigo, getting in between him and Orihime. Tatsuki glared at him with her dark-brown eyes. She had a very lean frame compared to Orihime's curvier figure. Her coal-black hair was short, the sides spiked out. Just by taking a glimpse at her, anyone could tell that she was a tomboy. She, too, was attired in a school uniform for females.

"Uh, right." Ichigo looked past Tatsuki's shoulder to speak to Orihime. "Sorry about that. You going to be alright?" Orihime nodded and sent him a small, nervous close-eyed smile. Ichigo walked around Tatsuki and reached his hand out to Orihime, leaning forward slightly. "Here."

Orihime opened her eyes and saw Ichigo in front of her. "Ah. Oh, no," she protested. She got up on her own and Ichigo lowered his hand as he straightened back up. "It's okay, really. I-I need to get to class now! Lot's to do!" She headed off in the opposite direction of where Hana, Ichigo, Tatsuki, and Yuki were standing. After a few seconds, Yuki walked off without a word as she headed to class.

"That was rather odd, but then again, Orihime can be very odd most of the time. And so can Yuki," Hana commented. She looked at Tatsuki. "Hey, Tatsuki," she greeted her friend. The two weren't exactly close, but they were sort of friends nonetheless.

"Hey, Hana," she greeted. She looked at both Hana and Ichigo. "So, why are you two late? It's time for lunch already."

"Don't worry about it. I'll tell you later." Ichigo walked off, leaving Hana and Tatsuki standing there. The two females only watched silently as he headed off without another word. Tatsuki turned her attention towards Hana, looking for an answer from her instead.

Hana glanced towards Tatsuki and noticed that she was being stared at. "A truck went through his house last night," she told her, speaking the lie that was strangely embedded in Isshin, Karin, and Yuzu's head, more than likely due to Rukia and Sayuri. She didn't see why Ichigo didn't tell her this himself, but it didn't matter. The lie was out further.

"Was everyone okay?" Tatsuki asked, showing some concern. "No one was harmed?"

"Yeah, everyone's fine. No one had gotten hurt." Hana half-smiled at her. "We'll talk some more later on. Don't wanna be any more late. Peace." She walked off, heading the direction Ichigo, Orihime, and Yuki went. Tatsuki sighed...

* * *

Everyone sat in the classroom where chatter filled the air. They stood, and sat, around each other, talking in semi-hushed tones until Keigo Asano spoke up, speaking very loudly. "What?! How could you sleep through that?! A truck ramming into your house?!" he exclaimed, staring at Ichigo with wide dark-brown eyes. The fifteen year old's figure was slim and his hair was brown, medium-long. He was standing in front of the desk that Ichigo was sitting in, leaning against the chair of the desk behind him.

"For once in your stupid life, Keigo, calm your fucking tits," Hana commented, sitting at the desk behind Ichigo with her arms crossed. She wasn't very amused by her dumb friend's reaction, but she instead appeared to be annoyed by it. She had always found the teen to be annoying but she was friends with him anyways.

Keigo, ignoring Hana, thought to himself for a moment before speaking again, this time speaking in a normal tone. "That must be one hell of a mess to clean up," he concluded. Ichigo only agreed with his air-headed friend, nodding instead of speaking. He really didn't want to talk more about it.

"Need any help?" Yasutora Sado, known as Chad, asked suddenly. The sixteen year old's skin was darker than that of his fellow classmates, him being of Mexican and Japanese descent. He had pronounced cheek-bones, a muscular and extremely tall figure, and he appeared to be older than he actually was. His hair was wavy dark-brown with bangs that generally hung over his brown eyes. Invisible to everyone's eyes at that very moment was his tattoo that happened to be located on his left shoulder, the tattoo reading 'Amore e Morte' and consisting of a heart with a snake and angel wings around it.

"Umm…" Ichigo sweat-dropped a little as he looked up at Chad. "Thanks, Chad, but I think we got it," he confessed. Chad nodded shortly, not saying a word.

"You'd probably make the rest of their house go crashing down," Keigo joked.

Yuki, who was standing nearby, overheard Keigo's comment and she went over to him from behind, hitting him upside the head with a book she had which caused him to scream slightly. For someone who wouldn't harm a fly, she didn't seem so innocent for just a second of time when she harmed Keigo. "Don't be mean to Chad. He can't help how he is," she quietly stated. She walked over to where she normally sat, her seat being two seats to the right of Hana.

"Ow! That hurt!" Keigo rubbed the back of his head. He glanced at where Yuki went to. "For someone who doesn't look like much, she sure is strong." He hadn't expected something like that from her.

"Don't make me kill you, Keigo," Hana threatened. She was protective over Yuki, sometimes overprotective. Even when she didn't need to be.

"Hello. You're Ichigo, aren't you?" someone asked. Ichigo turned and his eyes widened when he saw Rukia and Sayuri standing before him. He jumped out of his seat and just stared at them for a few seconds. Hana looked at Rukia and Sayuri but did not react anywhere close to how Ichigo was reacting; she remained the same.

Ichigo ended up backing into his friends. Not paying attention to the people around him, he pointed towards the Soul Reapers and exclaimed. "It's you!" He never expected to see them there. He had assumed they went back home or something. Why in the hell were they at his school?

"What's the matter, Ichigo?" Keigo asked him, confused.

"Do you three know each other?" Chad questioned.

"Uh…" Ichigo didn't know what to say or do about the situation. Hana shook her head lightly as an amused smile appeared on her face ever so slowly. She was happy that the two Soul Reapers were there. She already liked the more spunky one, her being the most amusing in her opinion. But she liked Rukia, too, even though she was a bit more serious.

"Huh?" Rukia faked innocence as she looked at Ichigo. "I don't believe we meet before. I'm Rukia Kuchiki. I'll be sitting next to you from now on." She was putting up an innocent act in order to fit in. Maybe it was too innocent of an act. She sounded so sweet and tender, almost like how Yuki sounded when she would speak.

Sayuri introduced herself next. "I'm Sayuri. Pleased to meet you."

"Rukia and Sayuri are brand new transfer students," Mizuiro Kojima stated with a smile. The fifteen year old had short black hair, parted down the middle with a stray bang in his face and the tips fanning out. His eyes were dark-green and he had a slim figure.

"I hope you aren't scared of the new girls, Ichi," Hana teased, smirking at Ichigo. He glared at her a bit. Hana's smirk didn't fade from her face; this was just so amusing to her. Yuki watched them from where she sat across the room, curious about who the new girls were. Hana's smirk went away and she smiled at the two Soul Reapers. "Nice to meet you, Rukia and Sayuri. I'm Hanako Mae but I prefer to be called Hana instead." She hadn't introduced herself to them the night before and she was happy to finally know the name of the spunky Soul Reaper. She didn't recall Rukia ever calling Sayuri by name the night before, but perhaps she missed it somehow. It didn't matter, though, since now, she knew both of their names.

"Nice to meet you, Hana." Rukia gave Hana a small nod.

"The same to you, Hana." Sayuri smiled a little bit before looking around the room. She tilted her head in curiosity when she spotted a white-haired female: Yuki. A sad smile appeared on her face as she stared at her, her thoughts somewhat going towards her twin whom she lost. She didn't like being reminded of what she once had. " _Great... Another person with white hair... I've seen enough silver and white hair to last several lifetimes. They remind me of...her..."_ She sighed inwardly. " _I miss her so much... I miss Mom, too..."_

"It's a pleasure to meet you, too, Ichigo." Rukia held her right hand out to Ichigo. He looked at it and gasped. On her hand was a message that read 'If you say anything, I'll kill you.' He gulped a bit and said nothing, trying to attempt to act natural.

Hana shook her head as she watched Ichigo. She could tell that he was trying too hard to appear normal. " _He really needs to relax. The idiot._ " She turned her attention towards her desk. " _What an interesting day so far._ " She quickly decided to make some small talk with Sayuri real quick, turning her attention towards her. "So, Sayuri? Got a last name?"

"Oh, huh?" Sayuri snapped back to reality when she heard her name called. She looked towards Hana, her attention no longer on Yuki. "Oh, yes. Hirai. Sayuri Hirai," she answered. She should've introduced herself properly, but she wasn't exactly a proper lady. She remembered first names better than last names. Although, the thirteen Court Squad Captains were a different story; she needed to call them by their last names in respect and often did so, but had times where she'd accidentally call some of them by their first name and she'd get scowled at for it.

"Hmm? Hirai? That's funny, my other best-friend has that last name. How odd." Hana looked back towards Ichigo and Rukia. " _Come to think of it, Yuki told me that her deceased sister's name was Sayuri. Is this just a mere coincidence or...is this actually Yuki's twin?"_ Hana continued to ponder her thoughts...

* * *

Hana, Ichigo, Rukia, and Sayuri stood outside the school somewhere, having headed out there after class was over. Yuki was watching them secretly from a distance, wondering what they were up to; the four she was watching had no idea she was there, her spiritual pressure hidden. Ichigo and Rukia were standing across from each other. Hana and Sayuri were standing beside one another, facing Ichigo and Rukia.

Ichigo yelled at Rukia. "Alright, you freaky little nut job! What the hell do you think you're doing?!" He didn't like that they were there, especially her.

Rukia smirked. "How scary, you big brute. Jeepers, you're not gonna hurt me, are you?" She was speaking quite calmly and was still using her innocent tone that she used in the classroom. Hana and Sayuri both watched them quietly, the two of them very amused by the sight they were seeing.

"You can cut the whole innocent act!" Ichigo exclaimed.

"It's pretty good, considering I learned it overnight," Rukia told him, returning to her normal tone of voice.

"You learnt to be innocent overnight?" Hana questioned. "Damn. I could never pretend to be so nice and innocent. I like being mean sometimes. I'm surprised people fell for it because it's just too innocent of an act. And I would know since I have two friends whom are actually very innocent-minded."

Sayuri laughed under her breath. "This is quite the show, you know."

Hana nodded, agreeing. "Yeah, it is."

"Why are you two still here?!" Ichigo yelled impatiently, waving his finger around to point at both Rukia and Sayuri. "Shouldn't you be heading back to your Soul Society or whatever it was?!" He wanted them to leave. He wanted things to go back to normal like nothing had ever happened the night before.

"I can't." Rukia looked down at the ground, placing her left hand on her right arm. "Only Soul Reapers can go back into the Soul Society. I don't have the power to return anymore." Ichigo had taken nearly all of her power, adding it to his own that he had the whole time but no one was aware of this fact.

"Uh, pardon?" Hana looked at Sayuri. "Can't you just take the both of ya back?"

Sayuri looked back at her. "Yes, but there would be consequences once the others learn Rukia gave Ichigo a lot of her power," she revealed. "So, we're staying here until she gets them all back." She sighed. " _There will be consequences nonetheless… If we are gone longer than we're suppose to, someone will be sent to come get us… Hopefully by then, Rukia will have her powers back and they'll never know what happened. And then, we'll just have to worry about an excuse as to why we never returned."_

"Damn…" Hana frowned and crossed her arms, looking back towards Ichigo and Rukia but mostly Rukia. "I'm sorry. If Ichigo and I hadn't done what we did, you two could've gotten rid of that Hollow easily yesterday and this shit wouldn't be happening." Everything tends to happen for a reason, good or bad; they just didn't know what the reason was. Perhaps it was meant to be; maybe they were suppose to meet.

"It's not your fault at all, Hana. It's all mine. I wanted to protect my family and you," Ichigo stated, looking at Hana. She looked back at him, her frown remaining despite what he said. She still felt like it was partially her fault, too. She had run towards the danger after all.

Rukia looked at Ichigo. "Because of you, we're both stuck in these ridiculous Gigais."

Ichigo questioned her as he looked back at her again. "Gigai?"

"It's a temporary body that serves as a vessel in case of an emergency," Sayuri explained.

Ichigo nodded in understanding. "I get it. That's why the others could see you both before." He was lucky that his friends had been able to see them or they would've thought he was crazy.

Hana sighed. "You know, it's amazing how smart you can be sometimes versus how slow you can be other times." Sayuri laughed a bit at the comment. Ichigo glared at them both; Hana for saying it in the first place and Sayuri for laughing about it.

"Until my powers come back, it is up to you, Ichigo, to perform the duties of a Soul Reaper for me and to help Sayuri," Rukia stated.

"Huh?" Ichigo questioned. Hana face-palmed.

"I'm guessing you don't understand big words, now do you, Mr. Strawberry?" Sayuri teased.

"Don't call me that!" Ichigo yelled.

"You do not have the right to refuse your calling," Rukia informed him. "You must do the duties of a Soul Reaper and help Sayuri," she repeated.

"I heard you the first time!" Ichigo yelled. "No way! My monster fighting days are over!" He refused to continue getting rid of Hollows. He wanted nothing to do with that shit anymore. "It was only an one-time deal!" He did not want to be a part of those shenanigans.

"Don't be so ridiculous, Ichigo!" Rukia yelled. "You did just fine yesterday!"

"Ichigo, you can't just refuse to do this," Hana told him, speaking calmly and gently. "You have her powers. You can't just...not use them and let them go to waste. You should help them out with their Soul Reaper issues. Help them keep Hollows from harming other families like that one had tried to harm us."

"She's right. Your job as a Soul Reaper is to help others," Sayuri explained.

"I only did it because my family was in danger and because I endangered Hana. I'm not going to fight for complete strangers! Sorry to disappoint you," Ichigo said. He started to walk away from the three of them.

Hana sighed lowly. " _I guess I could help them out. I owe them that much."_ She was ready to open her mouth and ask them if she could help instead, which would most definitely mean she'd have to tell them she was half Soul Reaper and it could also make Ichigo decide to help if she was a part of the bullshit of being a Soul Reaper. However, Rukia already had a plan cooked up in her mind.

"I see." Rukia place a red, mostly fingerless, glove onto her right hand. Hana watched her curiously. "I guess there's no other choice then."

"Here we go~" Sayuri commented.

"Hey!" Rukia called out to Ichigo.

"Huh?" Ichigo turned towards the females. Rukia ran at him, pressing her gloved hand against his head. Her hand went through his body but was instead connected to the head of Ichigo's soul, having just knocked his soul out of his body. His body fell to the ground as if he were dead and Ichigo pointed at his body as soon as he landed on his feet in soul form, shocked and confused as he started yelling frantically. "What happened to my body?!" He looked at himself to see that he was in the Soul Reaper attire again. "What did you do to me?!"

Hana snickered as she watched the whole ordeal from where she stood. "That reaction, though." That was just fucking hilarious.

"Wouldn't you react like that if you were him?" Sayuri asked, looking at her.

"Well, not really. Not with how I am. If I were born a completely different person, yeah for sure but I have to say no," Hana answered honestly without looking in Sayuri's direction. If she had only been just human, she'd be freaking out like Ichigo was currently doing. However, she wasn't completely human; only half.

"Follow me," Rukia told Ichigo. The two of them left without saying another word, Ichigo mainly being dragged away by Rukia.

"I guess I'll just...watch Ichigo's body," Hana remarked. She walked over to where he laid and sat down beside him; his body, at least. She sighed lowly again. "This is the life. So exciting," she stated sarcastically. It was more boring than it was exciting. And she had only been sitting there for a second or two.

"Indeed it is." Sayuri walked over to Hana and joined her on the ground. Something had been on her mind since she learned someone shared a last name with her. Ever since she heard that fact, she had been dying to know the first name of the person. She couldn't help it that she felt hopeful. "What is your friend's name, if you don't mind me asking? The one that shares a last name with me."

"Um, her name is Yuki," Hana answered. "You'll probably be meeting her officially soon enough. She usually hangs out with Ichigo and I, though she doesn't too often. Her hair is as white as snow and it stands out as much as Ichigo's orange hair. Hard not to notice her." She looked at the sky. "You know… It's kind of weird." She looked towards Sayuri whom was looking at her. "You have the same name of her twin sister who died when she was younger because of a Hollow attack. Her mother died, too." She frowned. "I know what it's like to lose a parent at such a young age; I lost both of mine because of a Hollow…"

"Y-Yuki? White hair? Hollow attack?" Sayuri felt a small pang in her heart as a memory came rushing back. A loud scream and loud tumble; the next thing she knew, she saw her mother's body lifeless under the rubble of the building. She didn't see any sign of her sister but somehow knew that she could be gone. " _Could it be, she still lives...? No, it has to be her. This is too much of a coincidence for her not to be my sister. Everything adds up... She has to be here... She's alive... All this time, she was alive... But how could our father not find her? Had she been hidden?"_

"Either this is just a mere coincidence or you are Yuki's twin sister who just ended up at the Soul Society and became a full Soul Reaper, no longer being half and half," Hana said. "At least, that is just what I've been thinking about since I learned your last name. Unless your story is just about the same as what I told you of Yuki, the two of you aren't twins and just happen to have the same last names." She smiled. "This is the first time I've ever thought so hard about something. I guess I just hope for Yuki to get her family back, now that there is a possibility she still has one."

"Well, I'd guess we can only find out with time," Sayuri commented before going quiet and turning to look at the sky. She was deeply hoping that she was correct, that this Yuki they spoke of was her sister. She just had to be her. She didn't want it all to turn out as just a coincidence...

"Mmm." Hana changed the subject since Sayuri didn't say anything else, looking down at Ichigo's body. "Do you think we should move him somewhere else? Somewhere less...out in the open?" she asked.

"I believe we should," Sayuri agreed.

Hana thought about it before deciding to remain sitting down. She didn't feel like getting up. "Meh, if someone sees, I'll just say he's sleeping. This school has a lot of dumbasses so that lie will work wonders no matter what." Sayuri snickered. "No offense to my friends. They aren't bright but they aren't complete dumbasses either."

Yuki slowly approached the two of them from where she had been hiding. She hadn't been able to hear anything but she did see it all. "...Why was Ichigo dressed like that? How was he outside of his body…?" she asked Hana, confused. "Is he a Soul Reaper now?" Sayuri tilted her head as she stared at Yuki, hope filling her being more.

"He sort of is one, yeah," Hana answered. "Before I forget, it wasn't a truck that crashed into Ichigo's house. It had been a Hollow that caused it but everyone is completely fine. So, there really is no need to worry about that, Yuki."

Yuki was worried for a moment but sighed in relief after Hana said everyone was okay. "That's a relief. I...really don't like Hollows..." She frowned and looked at her feet. She feared them greatly ever since that day she lost her family. She didn't like them either.

"So, what brings you to where we are sitting?" Hana asked Yuki, trying to distract her from having any bad memories. As she waited for Yuki to answer, Sayuri continued to stare at Yuki and she remained silent. Her eyes slightly widened as she came to realize this truly was Yuki, her twin sister, and not just some mere coincidence of them sharing the same last name. However, she didn't recall Yuki ever having a scar on her eye…

"Um…" Yuki tilted her head as she thought about it. Why was she out there? "Oh, yeah!" Yuki grinned as she looked back at Hana. "I was curious about what you were doing and stuff so here I am!"

Hana nodded. "Ah, I see."

Yuki looked at Sayuri finally and waved at her cheerfully. "Hey!" She stared at her with a grin still on her face. "You know, you look kinda familiar to me." She stepped over Ichigo's body and crouched in front of Sayuri. She was very close to her face. "Hmm…" She stared at her, trying to place her finger on what was so familiar about her…

"Familiar...? I'd thought you'd remember me, Yuki. I mean, I was able to remember you when I saw your hair, but I wasn't completely sure at the time about if it was really you or not." Sayuri stood up, backing up a little. "It's a been quite a while." She smiled down at Yuki as Yuki stared up, confused. "Sister."

Yuki stayed crouched but blinked and continued to stare up at the standing Sayuri. "Sister…?" She slowly began to realize why she looked so familiar to her. "Wait… S-Sayuri?" She stood up slowly, her eyes on Sayuri the whole time. "You're...Sayuri?" After all that time, she had never thought about Sayuri making it to the Soul Society. She assumed she was dead like their mother, dead and gone forever. She was stupid to assume such things.

"In the flesh, erm, soul." Sayuri looked away for a moment then back at her sister. "How? I thought... I thought you were gone." She stared at Yuki in wonder. "How can you still be alive after all that happened?"

Tears began to form in Yuki's eyes. She was so happy to see that her sister hadn't been gone entirely; she was still around, sort of. She had been correct about Sayuri being deceased, but incorrect about her being with their mother. She spoke slowly, unsure how she lived through that experience. "...I do not know how I lived. I just... I woke up underneath some wood... My arms and legs had been hurt. Um... I saw Mom and she was... Well..." She didn't continue talking about their mother. "...And then, I was found by someone really nice... And weird." She sniffled as her tears fell down her pale cheeks, a sad smile appearing upon her lips.

Hana, sitting beside her still, snickered at Yuki's last remark. "He's very weird actually. I still can't stand him but of course, you can because you're just as weird. But I think that might be his fault since he raised you the most." Urahara had raised Yuki since she was six years old and raised Hana since she was nearly ten, making it three to four years of Urahara raising Yuki. Although, she was surprised that she didn't become as weird but perhaps it was because her personality had already set place or because she spent most of her time with Tessai since Urahara normally would just train her and that's it, spending most of his time around Yuki and his work. In a way, she was kind of neglected by him.

Yuki sniffled again, wiping a few tears as she continued speaking, not responding to what Hana said. "I...thought you were gone forever, Sayu... I didn't... I didn't think that you went to the Soul Society. I felt like you didn't, just like I felt Mom didn't..." She believed that they were both in Heaven. However, it seems that only their mother had ended up right in Heaven while Sayuri just went to the Soul Society.

"And the same about you." Sayuri started explaining. "Father had came back but he could only find me. That's when he took me to the Soul Society. Still, we never gave up hope that the two of you could be alive or could still be around... Or, at least, one of you..." Her voice was cracking at the end as she started getting a bit emotional. She held back her tears, however.

Yuki quickly wrapped her arms around Sayuri, almost as though she would vanish at any moment in time. Her tears streamed down her cheeks more, her head against her sister's shoulder. "Sayu… I missed you so much! I really thought that... That you were gone forever like Mom…" She cried continuously as she hugged her sister.

Sayuri smiled softly as she wrapped her arms around her crying sister, continuing to attempt to hold in her own tears. "It's okay, Yuki. I'm here now," she said as she tried to comfort Yuki. She missed her, too. Not a day went by where she wouldn't think of her. She hated not having her around because this was her twin and they had a connection with one another that most twins had. Although she was happy-go-lucky around everyone in the Soul Society, she had moments where she was depressed whenever she was completely alone.

Yuki couldn't help but ask Sayuri about something. "H-How has Dad been doing since you last saw him...?" She sniffled once more and wiped some of her tears again as she pulled out of the hug. She wanted to know if he was doing alright. He was her father after all. Well, their father. She needed to know how he was coping with what happened.

"I... I honestly don't know, Yuki. I've barely seen him as of late and when I do, he's walking off somewhere. It's like... It's like he doesn't have time for anything but work anymore," Sayuri explained. "Other than that, he's doing fine but he's changed a lot since Mom died. Since you supposedly died." She avoided eye contact with Yuki. Although her words were true, she was hiding something from Yuki: their father was busy with working but most of his work revolved around something bad, his truest character having been revealed to Sayuri long ago and it still heavily upset her, though she was willing to keep his work secret because he was her father and she dearly loved him.

Yuki sniffled some more and frowned. "I see…" She should've expected that. She shouldn't had assumed that he had abandoned them when he supposedly never returned. She shouldn't had assumed that he hadn't known what occurred those years ago.

"Hey, we still have each other and I know Father will be happy to see you," Sayuri stated to try and lighten the mood. Yuki grinned, still sniffling, and she nodded. "In fact, he'd be overjoyed. You'll have to come visit us in the Soul Society one day and surprise him yourself. Maybe then he'll somewhat return to how he once was."

Hana watched the two sisters continue to hug one another, smiling to herself. " _I'm glad that Yuki has most of her true family back. She looks so happy; they both do."_ She looked at Ichigo's body. " _I wonder what he and Rukia are doing… Maybe she has convinced him to help out."_ She looked up at the sky as she sat simply just remained sitting there...

* * *

Ichigo and Rukia were at a playground, walking around. Ichigo had no idea what Rukia was up to, but he continued to follow her anyway. In Rukia's hand was a pager. Ichigo looked around the area. "Are you going to tell me where we're going?" he asked Rukia as they walked past a pole that had flowers, snacks, and drinks sitting at it; someone had died in that area.

"We're getting close," was all Rukia said in response.

"Getting close to what?" Ichigo questioned.

Rukia answered while looking at her pager. "Our latest orders from the Soul Society." She looked up from her phone as they walked. "It looks like a spirit of a boy that dwells here in this park is likely to come under attack soon," she explained. As soon as she finished, the boy she spoke of started screaming and the playground equipment was knocked over, making a crashing sound. The young spirit boy ran as a spider-like Hollow followed close behind him.

The young spirit boy was running towards where Ichigo and Rukia stood. "Help me!" he yelled in fear. Ichigo started running to go help the boy, acting on instinct.

"Wait! Hold on!" Rukia yelled.

Ichigo immediately stopped and looked at her. "What is it?"

"Just where are you going?" she questioned him. "That boy's a complete stranger, isn't he?" She was trying to prove a point.

Ichigo let out a sigh before yelling. "So what?! I can't just stand by and let this happen! You expect me to watch him die?!" Though he had said he wouldn't help strangers, he just wasn't the kind of person to just leave someone to die if he could do something in that moment. He couldn't help that he was a good person.

"Don't be such a fool!" Rukia yelled. "In the eyes of a Soul Reaper, all the spirits of this world are equal. Getting involved simply because spirits are nearby or they need help isn't how it works." Ichigo looked back towards the running young spirit boy and the Hollow chasing him. Rukia continued. "Leave him be. If you intend to help this child, then commit yourself to saving every spirit. You must be willing to go to any length, even to sacrifice your own life." Ichigo did not speak and pulled out his zanpakuto, slicing off the spider Hollow's legs and causing it to fall on its back. "Have you made your decision, Ichigo?" Rukia asked.

Ichigo didn't even hesitate for a second to answer. "Like hell I have."

"Huh?" Rukia questioned, confused. So, she made that speech for nothing?

"I haven't decided to do squat. I saved the kid because I wanted to," Ichigo stated. The young ghost boy was laying on the ground by Ichigo, whimpering from fear and crying a tad. "You hear me? What about you?"

Rukia narrowed her eyes. "Me?"

Ichigo turned to face her. "I seem to remember you putting your life on the line to save Hana and I last night." Rukia did indeed protect Hana from being harmed a second time and kept Ichigo from being harmed at all. "Tell me, were you really thinking about your duty when you rushed to help us? Of course not, that's the last thing on your mind when you save someone. At the very least, I choose..." The spider Hollow had its legs back and it crawled towards Ichigo from behind. It roared as it tried to attack him. "...To be different!" Ichigo exclaimed as he turned and stabbed the Hollow's mask with his Zanpakutō. The Hollow crashed on the ground in front of Ichigo and vanished. The little spirit boy on the ground was no longer crying, only panting now. Ichigo went over to him. "You okay?" The kid looked at him and yelped from fright. Ichigo crouched down in front of the young kid. "Hey, kid. If you don't want to go through that again, you better hurry up and pass on already."

Rukia gasped as she watched Ichigo press the hilt of the Zanpakutō against the kid's head, performing a Konso. There was a blue glow and what was left in the little boy's place was a Hell Butterfly, it flying up to the sky seconds later. Rukia walked up to Ichigo and commented. "You did that quite beautifully."

Ichigo straightened himself up from his crouching position. "I'm gone." He sheathed his Zanpakutō and walked away from Rukia, walking in kind of a grumpily, odd way...

* * *

Hana and Ichigo were staring at Rukia as she read from a book that she was holding; she was facing them and speaking very dramatically. Sayuri and Yuki were standing behind Rukia, looking at each other and talking to one another about things that had happened to them during the time they were separated, completely ignoring the others. None of them were wearing their school uniforms but were wearing normal everyday clothing; they had no school that day so they were out in town. Hana was wearing a long-sleeved black t-shirt, black jeans, and black flats. Ichigo was wearing a white t-shirt with a stripped logo on its center and long dark-blue sleeves, dark-colored pants, and brown shoes. Rukia was wearing a light blue and white dress that went to her knees along with black flats. Sayuri was wearing a white tank-top with a denim vest over it, blue denim shorts, and beige sandals. Lastly, Yuki was wearing a light blue dress with straps instead of sleeves like the one Rukia was wearing and light blue flats to match. "'Hear my voice, oh Lord. Help your humble child understand why she was born. And if your divine will wishes it, summon her back to your side. I await your-" Rukia got interrupted from her dramatic speaking.

"Would you shut up already?!" Ichigo yelled. Hana had started laughing her ass off, holding her stomach as she did so. She had been staring at Rukia in surprise but as soon as Rukia got to the sentence Ichigo interrupted, Hana had finally started laughing. Surely, there was never going to be any dull moments between the four of them.

Rukia looked at Ichigo with slight blush in her cheeks. "What is your problem? I am studying contemporary language."

"You're off by a couple centuries," Ichigo replied as Hana continued to laugh her ass off. "So, tell me. How long do you and Chatty Cathy behind you plan on following me around?" Ichigo called Sayuri 'Chatty Cathy' due to her talking a lot with Yuki the whole time they've been walking around.

"Until you answer your calling as a Soul Reaper," Rukia answered.

"Yeah, right. Whatever," Ichigo said.

Hana finally calmed down from her little laughing spell. "T-That may take a while, Rukia. He is a very stubborn dude."

"I've noticed," Rukia responded. She turned to look at Sayuri and Yuki just as Hana and Ichigo did so.

Yuki was giggling and smiling, clearly enjoying her talk with Sayuri. "You really tried to prank a Captain in the Soul Society? Which one? I've heard that there's quite a few." She was really amused by the story.

"Only about thirteen Captains and as for who." Sayuri shot a smile in Rukia's direction before looking back at Yuki. "That would be Byakuya Kuchiki, Rukia's brother. I got caught, though, and I had to do loads of work to make up for it. It was worth the try, however."

Yuki giggled more. "That's so funny."

Ichigo was getting frustrated a bit. "Look, I get that you two are long lost sisters or whatever from what Hana told me and Rukia, but the constant giggling is already starting to get on my nerves." He and Rukia both learned that the two were sisters once they had returned from the little 'trip' the day before when Rukia tried to get Ichigo to agree to save all spirits and not just ones he happened to be near.

"They just reunited!" Hana exclaimed. "Let them giggle all they want; they are trying to rekindle their sisterhood!" She was happy for the two of them. She herself wished she had a sibling, too, but that never occurred and would never occur.

"Siblings are a precious thing. Let Sayuri and Yuki be," Rukia scolded.

"Thanks, Rukia." Sayuri smiled a little bit.

As the five started to walk down the sidewalk, they heard the screeching of a car braking. They turned around to see that a car had stopped but then the car went off again. Laying in the middle of the street with a bag of groceries laying beside her was Orihime. The five ran to where she was as she slowly sat up. "Hey! Orihime!" Ichigo called out.

Orihime looked in the direction the five of them were in. "Uh, Ichigo!"

"Are you alright, Orihime?!" Yuki exclaimed. "You're not hurt, are you?!" She was a bit panicked. She quickly moved to help Orihime up to her feet, her eyes wandering around as she tried to find any sign of injuries on Orihime.

"Did you just get hit by that car?" Ichigo asked loudly.

Orihime answered Yuki first, looking at her as she was helped up. "Oh! I'm fine, Yuki!" Orihime looked at Ichigo. "Maybe."

"What do you mean, maybe?" Ichigo questioned, sweat-dropping.

Hana was confused, also sweat-dropping. "Were you hit by the car or no? It's a simple question, Orihime. Are you sure you are okay? Maybe you hit your head when you hit the ground and now you're odder than usual..."

Orihime grinned at them. "I'm okay, really! It was just a little bump on my head." She hit her head lightly with her fist for emphasis. "Don't worry! I'm fine, I swear!" She was really hyper for someone who just nearly got killed by a car.

"You sure you're okay? Where did that car go that hit you?" Ichigo asked.

Yuki looked around. "I don't see it anywhere… Did it vanish?"

"Hmm. It drove away," Orihime answered like it was nothing.

"Wha?! They drove away?! When you could've been possibly injured?!" Hana exclaimed. "What the fuck is the matter with people these days?!" She looked back and forth at the two ways the car could've gone. "Which way did it go?! What kind of car was it?! What did it look like?! I'll beat the shit outta the driver! No one should just drive away without checking to see if the person they nearly hit was alright! Damn bastard! I'll kill him!"

"Hmm…" Sayuri looked at the girl (Hana) beside of her.

"Hana… You should really calm down… You can't change someone's actions with violent ones…" Yuki stated, turning to look at her pissed off best-friend.

"I know that! I just want to give them a piece of my mind!" Hana yelled. "I'll make the bastard wish he or she never drove off like that! I'll fucking kick their ass so far up into the sky, they'll enter outer space!" She was a bit overprotective of Orihime, too, since she was so similar to Yuki in personality.

"Damn, Hana. Calm down a bit," Ichigo commented, staring at her.

"Blowing your anger out of proportion will not help the situation," Sayuri commented.

Hana growled. "Fine, I won't kick their ass, but they better not pull that kind of shit if they almost run me over."

Yuki sweat dropped. "Eh...? I don't think that'll happen but, um...okay?" Even someone like her could think realistically.

Orihime looked at Rukia, whom had been quiet the whole time, and Sayuri. "Huh? Rukia? Sayuri?" It was as if she was just noticing that they were there, even though Sayuri had spoken up.

"That's right," Rukia said. "And just who are you?"

Hana sweat-dropped, her anger long forgotten. " _Seriously?"_

Ichigo whispered to Rukia a bit angrily. "Hello, she's in the same class as you! Her name is Orihime. Get your head out of your ass!"

"Oh, of course!" Rukia curtsied, grinning. "Orihime, how are you?" Her innocent act had returned.

Orihime returned the curtsy. "I'm great, thank you. How are you?"

"Fine, thank you," Rukia replied.

Orihime grinned. "That's good. How are you, Sayuri?"

"As of right now, fine," Sayuri commented before turning away to look towards the sky.

"That's good, too!" Orihime continued to grin at them. She was very happy-go-lucky. She was very energetic. It seemed like nothing could lower her spirit, not even a near death experience.

"Well now, it appears that you've been shopping," Rukia said, looking at the grocery bag laying in the street.

"Huh? Oh, that's right!" Orihime looked around. "Dinner!" She moved to pick up her groceries; none of them were damaged. "My leeks, bananas, butter, and bean jam seem to have made it, too!" She laughed a little as she blushed a bit. She looked quite adorable in that moment. She mixed foods together that most people would find disgusting, but she loved it.

"Uh… That's great news. You get to have your, um, yummy dinner," Hana said, speaking in an unsure tone.

Yuki nodded in agreement to what Hana said, clapping. "Yay! The groceries survived with you, Orihime!"

" _Ugh. I don't want to know what she's going to make with that,"_ Ichigo thought. Sounded gross.

"Oh gosh," Sayuri muttered under her breath.

Rukia let out a small gasp as she caught sight of a mark on Orihime's left leg. "How did you get that bruise on your leg?"

"What bruise?" Orihime questioned before she looked at her leg. "Oh, I guess that happened just now when that car ran into me."

Yuki frowned. She hadn't noticed it earlier. "Does it hurt at all?" She began to grow worried again.

"Only a little bit, but I'm okay, Yuki. Promise." Orihime smiled at her, hoping that Yuki's worry would go away. It did; Yuki nodded slowly before grinning slightly. Orihime looked towards the others, noticing that Rukia was crouching in front of her and looking at the mark on her leg. "Is something wrong, Rukia?" Orihime frowned a bit as she leaned over slightly, staring at Rukia.

Rukia sweat-dropped as she looked up at her. "Uh, right, well-"

"Rukia." Sayuri looked at her black hair friend with a worried look. She had a feeling that something else had made that mark, not the car or the rough road.

"You take care!" Rukia said in exclamation to Orihime, straightening herself up from the crouching position. She had the grin on her face again, which changed to a quick smile before going back to being just a grin.

"So, you want us to walk you home?" Ichigo asked Orihime.

"Um, I'm okay, really," Orihime stated, nervously. "See ya!"

"Wait, Orihime. I'm going with you," Yuki said. "I wanna help you make the dinner!" She originally was going to spend more time with her sister before heading to Orihime's but decided that she could continue the bonding with Sayuri tomorrow. She wanted to spend time with Orihime right now, seeing as though she could've been killed just minutes ago. She was still worried about her, about her injury on her leg but she decided to push that worry away so that she would be able to enjoy the cooking with Orihime once they both got home.

Orihime became distracted from her nervousness, smiling really big. She was now really excited. It wasn't often when Yuki wanted to help but Yuki mostly enjoyed watching her cook. But whenever she did help, the food always seemed to taste even better. "Really?! We're going to make the best dinner ever with our skills combined!" She grabbed onto Yuki's hand. "Let's go! Bye, everyone!"

"Bye," Hana said.

Yuki looked back at Sayuri. "Talk to you later, Sayu!"

"See ya, Yuki," Sayuri called out to her new found sister.

Yuki headed off with Orihime, walking across the street after looking both ways to avoid any other accidents from happening. Sayuri sighed a bit. A thought came across her mind. She looked at Hana and Ichigo. "How did she get the scar on her left eye? I asked her about it and she told me it was nothing to worry about."

"Because it isn't something to worry about. She got it from some bullies a year or so ago," Hana stated. "Ichigo and I dealt with them so it really isn't something you need to be worried about at all. She probably just didn't want you to know that she used to be bullied. And to be honest, I still can't believe those guys stooped so low as to harm a female. I know some guys are like that but seriously, I still can't believe they harmed innocent little Yuki."

"I see." Sayuri looked in the direction her sister had left in. " _I'm sorry, Yuki, that I couldn't have been there for you during that time... Father isn't going to be pleased once he learns of that..."_

* * *

Hana, Ichigo, Rukia, and Sayuri were still walking around the town. It was getting darker and the day was well into the evening. Rukia looked at Ichigo, gauging what could have been going on in his mind. "So, Ichigo." Rukia turned back to face the street. "That girl, Orihime, are you close to her?"

Ichigo raised an eyebrow at the sudden question. "Orihime? Hmm... Not really. I rarely talk to her, let alone know much about her."

"What of Yuki? Are you close to her?" Sayuri asked suddenly, curious.

"Well, she is kind of one of my best-friends despite how innocent minded she is. We haven't talked too much lately, though," Ichigo answered. "Also, Hana is much closer to her than I am."

"Yeah," Hana stated. The two had bonded sometime after the two met and had been close ever since. She knew her longer than she knew Ichigo, having met him a year later at the graveyard.

"Then who are you close to, strawberry?" Sayuri teased. She glanced towards Hana. She had her suspicions about what his true feelings were for Hana. That night she met him, she saw how Ichigo looked at Hana. That was just a look of a close friend being worried out of his mind, that was the look of a lover whom was afraid for his beloved. She could tell that he liked her, or even loved her, but she could also tell that he was completely clueless of this fact. Most people usually were like that for a while before they finally realized their feelings.

"Quit calling me that!" Ichigo commanded. "To answer your question, there's my friends at school and as well as my family. Hana here is a close friend; a best friend." In other words, he was closest to Hana in terms of friendship.

"Yep," Hana stated in agreement.

"If I might ask a question, can you tell us of anyone who has died recently who was close to Orihime?" Rukia asked.

"Um… Her older brother died about three years ago," Hana stated. "Which isn't really, um, recent, but uh, yeah..."

"That's sad," Sayuri commented, frowning.

"Yes, it is, but things tend to happen for a reason, I guess." Hana sighed.

"Now, please let me ask one last question. When did the both of you start seeing spirits?" Rukia asked.

"For as long as I can remember. But as of late, I've started to see them more clearly and it's gotten a little annoying," Ichigo answered.

"I've always been able to see them clearly," Hana responded.

"I see. Well, thank you for today and we'll see you at school tomorrow. Come on, Sayuri." Rukia turned and ran off. Sayuri started to follow but she turned back and waved at the two before running off after Rukia. Ichigo gave one last look in the direction they left in before turning to head home, Hana following close behind him...

* * *

Ichigo was sitting cross-legged, or Indian style, on his bed with an open book in his hand. Hana was sitting cross-legged in front of him, also on the bed. Yuzu opened the door without knocking on it beforehand. "Ichigo, have you seen my pajamas?" she asked.

"Knock before you come in here," Ichigo complained instead of giving her an answer to the question she had asked.

"Sorry." Yuzu looked at Hana and smiled. "Hey, Hana!"

Hana looked at her and smiled. "Hi." She waved at her a tad.

"Did you come through the window again?" Yuzu asked. Hana hadn't entered the house with Ichigo through the front door earlier. Hana nodded in response. Yuzu looked back at Ichigo. "So, have you seen my pajamas, Ichigo?"

"No," he answered. "I don't know where they are."

"That is just so odd," Yuzu stated. "One of my dresses has gone missing, too."

Ichigo sighed. "Why do you feel the need to ask me about every little thing?"

Hana answered that for him. "Because you're the big brother." She hit him on the head and he grunted, dropping his book as he placed his hands on his head. "Idiot. You should be nicer to your little sisters, you know. You never know what could happen." Hana got off of the bed and walked over to Yuzu. "I can try helping you find them tomorrow if you'd like some help," she told her kindly.

Yuzu grinned brightly. "Okay! I'll leave you alone now. Goodnight." She walked down the hall and Hana closed the bedroom door. Hana turned and leaned back against the door, her arms crossed as she gave Ichigo a slightly annoyed look.

"What?" Ichigo asked, confused at the look Hanako was giving him as he stared at her.

"I was completely serious about what I said, Ichigo. You really should be nicer to your sisters. Instead, you looked and acted extremely annoyed by the fact that she was asking you something," Hana pointed out.

"I can't help the fact that I don't know where Yuzu's dress is. And I'm slightly irritated from today," Ichigo confessed.

"Well-" Hana started but was interrupted by beeping coming from the closet. "Huh?"

"What's that noise?" Ichigo wondered. As soon as he finished wondering out loud, the closet door slammed open to reveal Rukia and Sayuri. "What the hell?!"

Hana walked away from the bedroom door and stood beside Ichigo's bed, looking towards the closet. "Um... Though I am surprised that you are here, how the fuck did you both fit in there?"

"You don't want to know," Sayuri remarked as she stepped out of the closest and cracked her back. "But it certainly was uncomfortable."

"Are those my sister's pjs you're wearing?!" Ichigo asked, pointing at Rukia accusingly.

"I'll explain later. We've got orders," Rukia said.

"Orders?" Ichigo questioned.

"We're not alone." Rukia pulled on her red glove.

Hana's eyes widened. "You mean-"

"Get down!" Rukia quickly knocked Ichigo's soul out of his body, and his body off his bed, as a large red fist phased through the wall. Hana moved away from the bed quickly and stood by Sayuri. Ichigo stood beside Rukia in his soul form, his body laying at their feet. They all watched as the large red and brown Hollow pulled himself halfway through the wall. A Hollow hole was in the center of his chest and he looked similar to a snake.

"Holy shit!" Hana yelled, mostly quietly as to not to alert Ichigo's sisters and father.

"Be careful!" Sayuri called out a little loudly. But luckily, the Kurosaki family still hadn't been alerted.

"Why are you standing there?" Rukia questioned Ichigo. "Do something!" The large Hollow crushed Ichigo's bed as it roared and it tried to harm Ichigo, raising one of its hands to grab him. Sayuri backed away, pushing Hana behind her in case the Hollow turned his attention their way. "You have to aim for its head!" Rukia yelled to Ichigo.

Sayuri wasn't going to leave her Gigai to help unless Ichigo really needed it; he needed to do it on his own. Perhaps it would help him make his decision. "It's the only way to get rid of it, Ichigo!"

The Hollow came into the room fully. Ichigo let out a yell as he pulled his Zanpakutō out. He moved to attack, damaging his ceiling in the process because of how large his Zanpakutō was, and he missed the hit on the Hollow. The Hollow, in turn, knocked Ichigo back with its tail. "Ichigo!" Hana yelled. If she wasn't so stubborn about keeping her secret of being half Soul Reaper, she would be helping him out with no hesitation after using Rukia's glove to get into soul form. There wasn't any reason for her to continue to keep it secret; Yuki's half Soul Reaper and Human secret was out since the day before when she reunited with her sister. Though, she was a bit fearful of how Ichigo would react, though there really wasn't anything to fear since he handled her healing ability rather well and handled Yuki's secret rather well, though he didn't seem to care all that much about it since while he was best-friends with Yuki, he wasn't all that close to her.

Ichigo managed to cut the Hollow's right arm and break part of the Hollow's mask, revealing its left eye, but he gasped when he recognized the face behind it. The Hollow cried in pain as it left the room, phasing through the ceiling as it went. Rukia started to head out of the room. "We need to go after it! It's getting away! Hana, stay here where it's safe!"

"Alright..." Hana stated.

"Sayuri?" Rukia looked at her.

"Right," Sayuri said. "Mind helping me out of my Gigai?" she asked. Rukia quickly knocked her soul out of it with her red glove. "Thank you," Sayuri said. Rukia nodded. She looked at Ichigo. "Strawberry, something up?" Hana and Rukia both looked at Ichigo.

"Ichigo... What is it?" Hana asked softly.

"Something's not right," Ichigo said. "I got a look at that thing's face." He looked at the girls. "And it was Orihime's dead brother!"

"What?" Hana questioned. "No way!"

"Are you certain?" Rukia asked. Ichigo nodded.

"This isn't going to end well," Sayuri said. She frowned. It was kind of depressing that they had to destroy the mask belonging to the Hollow that was once Orihime's older brother. She could imagine that Orihime had felt extremely saddened when she lost him, like she herself was saddened when she thought she lost both her mother and twin sister. No one should go through such emotions but it was a part of life.

Rukia sighed, looking down at the slightly damaged floor. "Here's a word of advice." She closed her eyes. "When attacking Hollows, come from behind and destroy their masks with one blow. It's basic theory for any Soul Reaper."

"Why? What do you mean?" Ichigo questioned. Hana frowned, knowing fully well what Rukia was going to reveal to him.

"It will keep your injuries to a minimum. It will also keep you from learning of the Hollow's identity," Rukia stated.

"In other words... Hollows were once souls of human beings," Sayuri revealed to Ichigo.

Ichigo gasped. "What?! You never told me that!"

"Because that no longer matters," Hana told him. He looked at her as she started to frown. "They are nothing more than just monsters. It can't be helped."

Sayuri nodded slowly. "Yeah... She's right, Strawberry." Ichigo was quiet and Hana sighed, frowning more.

" _It was better when he didn't know about that..."_ Hana thought. Her eyes widened when she realized something. "Guys, you need to get going! He is more than likely going to go after Orihime now!"

"Shit! Yuki's with her!" Sayuri exclaimed. "We gotta go!" Not only was she a tad worried about Orihime, but she was worried that she'd lose Yuki, whom was with Orihime.

"You expect me to kill him?!" Ichigo asked them in exclamation.

"If you don't, I will," Sayuri stated. "Now, we really need to go! He'll hurt them both!" She jumped out of the window. Rukia climbed onto Ichigo's back and he jumped out of the window, too, without saying anything else.

" _Good luck..."_ Hana thought. She looked around the room, sighing. She might as well start trying to fix some of the damage...

* * *

Orihime and Yuki were sitting inside of the home they shared, the two of them having already made food and eaten it. However, it was getting close to them wanting to eat once more. The doorbell rang suddenly. Yuki hummed. "We have a visitor, Orihime!"

"Mhm." Orihime got up and headed to the door. "Coming!" she called out to the visitor. She opened the door to see that Tatsuki was there. "Oh, hi Tatsuki."

Tatsuki had a bowl of stew in her hand. "My mom thought I should bring this over. It's stewed beef and potatoes."

"Wow! Great! Home-made beef and potatoes!" Orihime grinned. "Come in!" Tatsuki walked inside and Orihime closed the door. They went into the kitchen where Yuki sat. "Tatsuki is here, Yuki, and she brought some food with her!"

Yuki smiled and laughed a bit as she looked towards Orihime and Tatsuki. "How exciting. I'm sure you can't wait to eat it." Orihime's and Yuki's personality really were quite similar; they were both kind-hearted, bubbly, and odd, but they had a few differences. For example, Yuki could act mature at some points while still being completely innocent sounding, depending on the situation, and tended to be the one who would get frightened greatly by certain things.

Soon enough, the three females were sitting around the table that had food spread out on it. Orihime was eating some of the stewed beef and potatoes that Tatsuki brought over. "Oh, boy! This is delicious!"

Yuki tried some herself to see if that was true. Surely enough, it was. "Whoa! It is! It's just so yummy!"

"I swear, if I don't bring meals over, you'll always eat some of the weirdest stuff yet," Tatsuki remarked.

"I never thought about it," Orihime said.

"I like the weird food Orihime makes. That's why I help her make it sometimes; so it'll be even weirder and greater!" Yuki threw her arms up as she cheered. "Yay for weird food!" She really loved eating weird mixtures of food. It was just so yummy.

Tatsuki smiled and shook her head as she watched Yuki. "So, what did the two of you do today?"

"I went shopping," Orihime stated. "Yuki was with Ichigo and Hana. Sayuri and Rukia were with them."

"Cool," Tatsuki responded.

"Sayu is so awesome!" Yuki swayed side to side happily from where she sat. "I love hanging out with her!"

"Are you two related?" Tatsuki asked. "You have the same last name, but that could just be a coinciden-"

Yuki answered before Tatsuki finished speaking. "She's my older twin sister. I thought she was gone forever after the accident we were in years ago, but now she's back! It's a wonderful miracle!" She was happy to have her sister back in her life after so long. She hoped to get her father back into her life in the future whenever she saw him again. She wanted them to be together again after the long separation. She had really missed them both, just as much as she missed her mother.

Orihime's eyes went really wide and she smiled. "What?! Really?! That's great! I'm glad that she's alive, Yuki!" She put down her bowl of stew and hugged Yuki tightly. "I'm happy for you. Your sister is really pretty!" Orihime pulled out of the hug and realized what she said. "Rukia is really pretty too, though!"

Yuki laughed. "Mhm!"

Tatsuki watched them, completely silent. " _So, Sayuri is her twin sister? It's odd that she suddenly appeared and reunited with Yuki, but I am happy for her. I've never seen her this happy about something since she moved in with Orihime."_

Orihime went back to eating. After swallowing some beef and potatoes, she asked a random question. "Do you think that Ichigo likes Hana more than a best-friend?"

Tatsuki blinked, surprised by the sudden question. "Uh, it's possible. They have been friends for a long time. I wouldn't be surprised if they suddenly started to date."

Yuki gave her answer last and kept it simple. "I think he does like her because they are always together, even after school." She ate some of the beef and potatoes. "Or maybe they are in love but don't know it yet because they've never loved someone in such a way before."

"That's a really good answer," Orihime said to Yuki.

"Why did you ask such a question, Orihime?" Tatsuki asked curiously.

"Do you think someone will like me like that someday?" Orihime asked her innocently.

Tatsuki and Yuki answered together. "Of course."

Orihime blushed slightly and grinned widely. "You really think so?"

"Totally!" Yuki exclaimed. "Who wouldn't love you?! I love you; you're like a sister to me! You are really nice, really pretty, and really fun to be around! Who wouldn't love that?!" She greatly enjoyed living with Orihime. She adored her.

Orihime hugged Yuki again. "Thanks, Yuki! I love you, too!" The three females suddenly heard a loud bang, making Orihime and Yuki jump apart. "What was that...?" Orihime questioned as slight fear overtook her.

"I-I don't know..." Yuki shook lightly. " _No... Anything but a Hollow... Please..."_ She placed her left hand into Orihime's right hand, squeezing it tightly. As they continued to hear banging sounds, Orihime's stuffed rabbit fell off her dresser with a large tear in its head...

* * *

 ** _I honestly don't care if this story is greatly disliked. It's being made for fun. Hear me? FUN. If people enjoy it, awesome. If people don't, whatever. It's only being made for fun so if there are plot holes or anything, I don't care because it's not a professional story like my other ones. It's simply for fun, as I said._** ** _Sorry if that sounded rude. DX_**

 ** _Word Count: 13,215_**


	4. Chapter 3: Sora Says Goodbye

_**Warnings: Errors in Grammar, Spelling, Etc. Out-Of-Character Moments. This Fanfiction Series Contains Original Characters. This Fanfiction Series Follows The English Dub Anime (Like All of My Fanfictions Do). This Fanfiction Series Contains Original Ideas, Some Meant to be Explained in the Far Future. Don't Like that, Don't Complain About It and Just Simply Don't Read It. :) It's As Simple As That. Please, Do Enjoy! You Have Been Warned. Oh and Some Scenes Have Been Left Out Along With Some Dialogue, and Some Dialogue From the Anime Has Been Reworded Along With Some Scenes Have Been Changed by the Slightest.**_

 ** _Edited, via Quotev, on 3/27/2017; Errors Fixed and Sentences/Descriptions Added_**

* * *

Inside the home of Orihime and Yuki, the owners and their guest were looking around in slight fear and a lot of confusion. None of the three females made a move to get up. The sound suddenly came to a stop. Yuki looked at Orihime and Tatsuki, her left hand still in Orihime's right hand. "Y-You did hear that, too...right?" Orihime nodded quickly and Tatsuki nodded shortly. "A-Any ideas what that was…?" Yuki was scared out of her mind. She hated Hollows. She greatly feared them. Those things scared the absolute shit out of her and she hoped that help would arrive soon. " _Hana... Ichigo... Sayu... Please, hurry up..."_

"Not a clue," Tatsuki answered, her eyes shifting around the room.

"Could it be an earthquake?" Orihime asked.

"I'm not sure," Tatsuki said. "It didn't feel like one."

Yuki looked around the room and spotted Orihime's stuffed animal on the floor. "Orihime, your stuffed toy is on the floor."

"Huh?" Orihime turned around. "Oh!" She crawled over to it as she released her hold of Yuki's hand and picked it up, cuddling it. "Poor Enroku fell down." She looked at its head and saw the slash mark that had been made, some of the toy's stuffing coming out of it. "Oh, my gosh! How'd you get this big rip in your head?" Yuki crawled over to Orihime and sat beside her, towards her right. Tatsuki stood up and walked over to them, leaning over Orihime's left shoulder.

The loud booming sound commenced once more. The three friends looked around, remaining where they were. Yuki gulped and held onto one of Orihime's arms. "T-That can't be an earthquake," Yuki stated, still filled with fear. She was more than certain that it was indeed a Hollow, a creature she strongly feared since her mother died and was separated from the rest of her family. She looked around, seeing no Hollow in sight, but knew that one would most likely appear inside of there soon. She may had been trained by Urahara over the years...but it did not help that she was too afraid of Hollows to deal with them, leaving that job to Hana and other Soul Reapers that came to Karakura Town.

Yuki's eyes widened and she shook like leaf as she watched a giant red and brown snake-like Hollow enter the home by phrasing through the wall, unbeknownst to her that it was Sora, Orihime's deceased brother, whom was now called Acidwire. The blood on its injured arm dripped onto the floor and onto Orihime's hand; he was standing right over the three of them and only Yuki could see him clearly. Orihime looked down at her stuffed toy and saw the blood on her hand. "I-Is that blood?" She began to shake a bit herself. In an instant, Acidwire's large right hand hit Orihime in the chest, sending her falling backwards onto the floor unconscious and knocking Yuki backwards as well, making her lose her grip on Orihime. Yuki sat up slowly beside Orihime's unconscious body and stared at Acidwire, frightened.

"Orihime? Yuki?" Tatsuki questioned in worry. She was immediately sent flying into the wall by Acidwire, her left arm wounded. Tatsuki was very confused, placing her right hand on top of her wound. "What happened? Why am I bleeding?" Acidwire hit her once again, sending her flying across the room. Tatsuki sat up and looked around quickly, becoming frightened herself now. "S-Something's here!" She looked at Yuki. "Get out of here, Yuki, while you still can!"

Yuki did not answer. Instead, she stared at Acidwire as he finally targeted her. He gave her the same treatment he gave Tatsuki; he sent her flying into the wall, creating a wound on her left arm as well. "...O-Oww..." Yuki whimpered. Acidwire was by her in a second, gripping her torso and picking her up. Yuki winced and closed her eyes, embracing for impact. Acidwire knocked her against a window, breaking it and causing many shards to dig into her skin but he did not let go of her just yet. Instead, he held onto her a little longer, hitting her against the wall several times before tossing her into the wall behind Tatsuki.

"Yuki!" Tatsuki yelled. She stared at her with wide eyes. Yuki was lying on the floor barely conscious, her arms and face covered in cuts from the glass, her head bleeding quite a bit from the multiple impacts it had with the walls, and her left arm was bleeding much more. Tatsuki crawled over to her since she was close by and sat in front of her, looking around the room. She was willing to protect Orihime and Yuki, even though she couldn't see the creature that was attacking them. "Leave her alone! Leave all of us alone!" Acidwire knocked Tatsuki down and placed himself above her. She lifted her right arm and found herself touching something that she could not see. Tatsuki was even more frightened, greatly fearing the being she couldn't see.

Yuki weakly looked towards where Orihime lay, or at least where her body was lying. She noticed a silver chain connected to the motionless Orihime's chest and followed it, laying her eyes on the soul of Orihime whom was sitting against her television stand, staring at Acidwire. "...Ori...hime…" Because of her (Yuki) fear, she was unable to protect herself and her two friends.

Orihime shook in fear as she continued to stare at Acidwire. " _What's going on? What is that...that monster and what is it doing to Tatsuki?"_ She looked towards to where her physical body laid. "T-That's me...but…" She noticed the chain connected to her chest. She tugged on it a little bit. "I-I can't breathe… Where did this come from…?"

"Or...ihime…" Yuki mumbled weakly once more. Orihime looked in her direction, gasping as she saw her wounds and placing her hands over her mouth. "Don't… pull… on that…" Yuki continued. She was finding it hard to stay conscious, her wounds getting the best of her as they continued to make her feel more exhausted. Her wounds, however, were not great enough to be fatal. At least, not yet. "Im...port...ant..." She let out a small noise before finally losing consciousness.

Orihime removed her hands from her mouth and cried out to Yuki. "Y-Yuki! Don't die!" She heard Tatsuki gasping and turned her head to see Acidwire choking her. "Tatsuki!" Orihime stood up. "I can't just sit around." She ran at Acidwire, throwing herself against his left arm causing him to release Tatsuki due to being momentarily distracted. Orihime landed with her side on the floor and quickly crawled over to Tatsuki, grabbing onto her arm as Tatsuki coughed. "Tatsuki, are you okay?!"

Since Tatsuki could not see Orihime because of her being outside of her body, she thought Acidwire was attempting to attack her again. Tatsuki backed into the wall, leaning against it; she was to the left of the unconscious Yuki. "Get away! Stop hurting us!"

Orihime was confused and she moved to sit beside the very frightened Tatsuki. "Tatsuki? It's just me. Please tell me what's wrong." Orihime's fear was not forgotten but more or less suppressed.

"She can't see us, Orihime," Acidwire stated in a rough, scary tone.

"Tatsuki!" Orihime cried out as Tatsuki fell onto her side, unconscious like Yuki. Orihime looked at Acidwire, her look showing some anger. "Why not?" she questioned him in response to what he had stated. "How do you know my name? Who are you?"

Acidwire answered after a few seconds had went by. "That makes me sad, Orihime. Have you forgotten my voice? It's me. Can't you tell?"

"What are you talking about?!" Orihime didn't understand what he was telling her.

Acidwire grew angry. "It makes me very, very sad!" He raised his right arm and reached towards her, wanting to cause her harm. However, no harm came to her. In front of Orihime was Ichigo, holding back Acidwire's hand with his over-sized Zanpakutō blade.

Sayuri appeared by Yuki, lifting her up softly and holding her in her arms. "Yuki?" She stared down at her very injured sister. "Shit," she muttered softly. She felt herself tremble ever so slightly. " _I wasn't here to help you... I wasn't here for you again when you really needed me... I'm so sorry..."_

"I'm the one that you are really after!" Ichigo glared at Acidware. "Leave her alone and fight me!" Acidwire moved back, pulling his hand off of the blade. Blood sprayed out of the wound on his injured hand and he let out his infamous roar. Ichigo let out a loud grunt-like yell, ready to attack Acidwire, but could not as Acidwire phrased through the wall, leaving the room.

Orihime blinked. "Huh?" Why was Ichigo in front of her with a large-bladed sword? Why was he wearing a dark kimono? How did he even get inside of her home? She looked towards Sayuri and was confused to see her in the same attire as Ichigo.

Ichigo looked towards Tatsuki. "Damn." He looked towards the two sisters, watching Sayuri as she began to help the currently unconscious Yuki. "Will they be alright?" he asked her.

"Yeah, they should be. I'm going to move them to a safer place," Sayuri answered. She was more concerned about Yuki because not only were her wounds bad but she happened to be her sister.

"Thank you so much, Ichigo!" Orihime smiled at him once she looked back in his direction.

Ichigo turned towards Orihime, staring at her in disbelief. "How in the hell can you see me?"

"I don't know?" Orihime lifted her hand to her lips. "Why shouldn't I?" She stared at Ichigo's attire. "Why are you wearing that?"

"Uh...well...because I'm a Soul Reaper…" he answered slowly.

"A Soul Reaper?" Orihime questioned, tilting her head. "What's that?" She was really confused about what was occurring.

"I don't have time to explain," Ichigo stated. He stared at her, still a bit surprised that she could see him. He was still feeling a bit disbelief. "How can you see me, Orihime?" he asked her a second time.

"I said I don't know, Ichigo." Orihime frowned. "I'm confused and scared…"

"It is normal for someone such as yourself to be afraid and confused," Sayuri answered. She stood up with Yuki in her arms. "Ichigo, stay on alert. The Hollow will most likely return." She jumped out of the broken window, Yuki still within her arms, and landed safely on the ground by Rukia. Keeping Yuki safe and getting her healed was her top priority; she did not want to lose her sister after only just getting her back since she did not know if Yuki would pass on like their mother or if she would become a spirit and be able to enter the Soul Society with her.

Still inside of Orihime and Yuki's home, Ichigo noticed the silver chain connected to Orihime's chest. "Why is… Orihime, are you…?"

The voice of Acidwire filled the air. "She's a spirit being now. In other words-" Acidwire's head came through the wall, returning to finish what he had started. "-Orihime is dead!" Ichigo ran at Acidwire, yelling as he prepared to attack him. His attack did not hit as Acidwire entered the room completely, dodging the attack as he did so and grabbed hold of the chain connected to both Orihime's unconscious chest and her spirit's chest. Ichigo proceeded to attempt cutting Acidwire's tail, but could not and was sent flying out of the building by the very tail he tried to wound. Ichigo was hit by Acidwire's tail a second time and sent flying to the ground by Rukia, Sayuri, and unconscious (but being healed) Yuki.

"Ichigo!" Rukia ran over to where he laid. "Ichigo!" Ichigo didn't twitch or even move, laying face-down on the ground.

Orihime was within the rough grip of Acidwire. "He's hurt!" She tried her hardest to get out of Acidwire's hand. "I have to help him! Please, let me go!"

"Orihime, have you forgotten me?" Acidwire asked her.

Orihime looked at him, seeing his eyes up close now. "Sora…? Is that...really you?"

Outside of the building, Rukia was crouching beside Ichigo. "Ichigo! Come on, get up!" Ichigo slowly got up, placing a hand on his forehead. "This is not going to be easy."

Sayuri, not taking her eyes of Yuki as she continued to perform a Healing Kido, spoke. "You okay over there, Strawberry?"

Ichigo growled a bit from hearing her, once again, call him Strawberry. "Like you care. It's nothing. I'm okay." He removed his hand from his head. He needed to get rid of the Hollow and soon.

"Good," Rukia responded. "Now, listen carefully. That Hollow may have been her brother once, but now it's just a monster. You need to stop it. It has no heart so put aside all your feelings already and destroy it."

"Good luck," Sayuri commented. "You will need it."

Within the building, Acidwire placed Orihime down surprisingly gently. Orihime stared at him. "Are you really Sora?" she asked.

"Yes, Orihime, it's me," he answered.

Orihime stared at him, unsure. "You're lying. He would never do something like this."

Acidwire began to explain. "I was so lonely. You were beginning to forget me a little more each day. After I died, I watched you pray for me everyday. After a year, you became friends with that girl and you started praying for me less before you stopped completely. You even allowed a different girl to move in with you."

"You don't understand!" Orihime protested.

Acidwire gripped onto her tightly. "If you still have even a shred of love for me, you will not betray me again. Do exactly as I say. I will deal with him." He turned towards where he had sent Ichigo flying out of the building. "I will devour that Soul Reaper and put an end to this." He released his hold on Orihime.

Orihime protested against Acidwire harming Ichigo again. "No! Don't hurt Ichigo anymore! Don't hurt anyone anymore! They didn't do anything! They don't deserve it! It isn't righ-!"

Acidwire turned around. "Don't tell me what's right and what's wrong when it was you who made me become this monster!" He grabbed Orihime again and began to crush her, attempting to strangle her as well. "I should kill you first for the way you abandoned me!"

"No, you won't!" Ichigo jumped through the gaping hole at the side of the building and stabbed Acidwire's tail repeatedly, making him release Orihime again. Orihime landed on the floor roughly. Acidwire ignored Ichigo and proceeded to reach towards Orihime, wanting to pick her up again. Ichigo stopped him, slicing off Acidwire's right hand and causing him to let out another roar. Ichigo crouched beside Orihime as she coughed. He slowly rose up. "You…" He was speaking to Acidwire, but kept his back towards him. "Do you know why big brothers are born first?" He turned to face Acidwire who just remained where he was. "They are born first so they can look out for their little brothers and sisters. So that they can protect them. Yet, here you are threatening her!"

"Shut up!" Acidwire growled. "You don't know anything! I was fifteen when she was born! I took care of her when we were abandoned by our parents! She's more like a daughter to me than a sister." He looked at Orihime. "Orihime, if you come with me, I will leave them alone."

Rukia appeared in an open doorway. She had heard what he said. "Do not trust him," she stated. "He is trying to trick you. He no longer has the feelings of a brother anymore."

"Are you sure?" Orihime asked after she stood up. She stared at her hollowfied elder brother.

Acidwire stopped the hairpins that Orihime had in her hair. "Those hairpins." Memories of his time with Orihime crossed his mind and he suddenly went berserk, slamming his head against the wall. It was like he was trying to resist bringing harm to her.

"Brother!" Orihime cried out.

"What is this?" Rukia wondered.

Acidwire moved away from the wall and went to attack Ichigo. "She belongs to me!" His mouth wide open, he tried to bite Ichigo. Ichigo stopped him with his Zanpakutō.

"She doesn't belong to anyone!" Ichigo yelled. He pushed Acidwire back. Acidwire retreated, moving outside of the building. Ichigo quickly followed him. He had a chance to slash Acidwire's mask, his Zanpakutō raised as he was over Acidwire. He, however, hesitated to proceed with slashing the mask of Orihime's brother. He couldn't do it.

"Do it, Ichigo!" Rukia yelled.

Sayuri looked up from where she was, having almost succeeded in healing Yuki fully. "Don't hesitate, Strawberry! He's just a monster now!"

Ichigo yelped in pain as Acidwire spit acid onto his hand, dropping his Zanpakutō as he was sent crashing to the ground by Acidwire's tail. As he sat up, Acidwire went at him with his mouth wide open, ready to eat him. However, he did not succeed in doing so since Orihime had stopped the attack. Some of Acidwire's teeth had entered her left shoulder, creating a wound. "Orihime," Ichigo said, staring at her with wide eyes.

"Orihime… Why did you do that?" Acidwire didn't seem to want Orihime to be harmed all of a sudden, completely unlike how he was earlier when he tried to kill her. The part of the Hollow that was her caring brother had resurfaced.

"Sora, I had to save him. This is my fault. I begged you not to leave me alone… It's all my fault that you became like this… You weren't able to find peace… I always had a feeling that you've been watching over me… Earlier today, you protected me from being hit by that car… That's why I have the mark on my leg…" Orihime had tears in her eyes. "I stopped praying because... I thought that you could move on if you saw that I was happy. I didn't think...that you'd be so sad and lonely." The tears in her eyes finally began to fall, going down her cheeks and to the ground beneath her. She moved away from Acidwire slightly before falling onto her left side.

"Orihime…" Acidwire suddenly began to let out a roar and held his head.

"What the hell is happening?!" Ichigo yelled.

"His human side is trying to take over the Hollow side. He was forced to become a Hollow," Rukia explained, now realizing what had happened.

"Oh no…" Sayuri said with widened eyes.

Yuki slowly opened her eyes and looked around. "...Why am I outside…?" She recalled getting heavily injured. She recalled passing out after telling Orihime that she shouldn't pull on the chain that was connected to her chest. So, how was she outside if she passed out inside?

"You're awake!" Sayuri exclaimed. "Thank goodness!" She sighed in relief.

Yuki looked to her right to see Orihime lying on the ground. Her eyes widened. "Orihime!"

"She'll be alright. Rukia and Ichigo are dealing with the situation." Sayuri finished up healing the rest of Yuki's injuries before ending the Healing Kido. "How are you feeling?"

"Um… Fine." Yuki sat up and continued looking towards where Orihime was. "...Are you sure they got it under control...?" She watched Acidwire continue to roar and hold his head. "...I don't want that Hollow to hurt me anymore…"

"Yuki." Sayuri grabbed onto Yuki's shoulders and made her look at her. "He won't hurt you. Everything is fine."

Yuki nodded hesitantly. "Okay…" Despite Sayuri telling her that everything was under control, she still trembled in fear. "...I fear Hollows…"

Sayuri wrapped her arms around her younger twin, pulling her close. "I won't let any more Hollows hurt you, Yuki. I promise." Yuki hid her face in Sayuri's shoulder.

Acidwire's mask began to crack before it vanished altogether, revealing Sora's face. Rukia moved over to where Orihime laid, getting onto her knees and placing her hands over Orihime's wounds as she began to perform a Healing Kido on her. As Rukia performed the Kido, Sora stared at the clips on Orihime's hair. "Those hairpins are a gift from you, aren't they?" Ichigo asked him, noticing that Sora was staring at the hairpins. "She told me about that once." Sora didn't answer. Instead, he looked towards Ichigo's Zanpakutō and moved over to where it laid. He picked it up and placed the blade over his head. "What are you doing?" Ichigo questioned.

"I only have a short time before the hollow overwhelms me again," Sora told him sadly. "So, while I can still think clearly, I'll end this." He pointed the blade at his neck.

"Wait!" Ichigo yelled. He went to reach for his Zanpakutō but a hand on his shoulder stopped him. He turned to see Rukia staring up at him with a look on her face. "But…"

"Leave him be. It's best for everyone if he's allowed to do this. He'll eventually go to the Soul Society," Rukia explained as she looked at Sora.

Sora smiled and was about to proceed in making the blade enter his neck, but Orihime stopped him. "Wait," she said. "I have to tell you something." Sora lowered the Zanpakutō and looked down at her. She was still laying on the ground but she had her head turned towards him and she was smiling a little. "Remember the argument we made about these hairpins the day you handed them to me? I told you I didn't like them and you left without saying anything... That was the last time I saw you alive... Now I want to say what I should've that day." She sat up despite her shoulder wound not being completely healed. "My brother, have a good day." Tears went down her cheeks as she stared up at him.

Sora smiled at her and spoke lightly. "Thanks, Orihime." He pierced himself with the Zanpakutō and vanished, causing the Zanpakutō to fall onto the ground. Orihime whimpered before she started to cry a lot, wrapping her arms around Rukia since she was closest to her. Rukia allowed her to cry against her shoulder.

Yuki frowned, gripping Sayuri's arm. "Sayu…" she mumbled.

"What's wrong, Yuki?" Sayuri asked, slightly worried. Did she not heal her completely?

"We...won't be separated ever again...right?" Yuki asked softly. Seeing Orihime cry over her older brother had made her think about the possibility of her being separated from Sayuri again. Her grip on Sayuri's arm tightened a bit.

Sayuri smiled softly. "We won't, I promise. No matter what, we'll stick together."

Yuki laid her head against Sayuri's arm, letting go of it as she did. She smiled a little bit. "That makes me happy..."

"I-I'm glad." Sayuri smiled once more...

* * *

The next day, atop of the Karakura High roof, Orihime was sitting with her friends during lunch. Hana, Ichigo, Rukia, Sayuri, and Yuki stood nearby. "Really! A sumo wrestler with a gun blasted a hole through the wall into my room last night!" Orihime exclaimed.

"Huh?" Michiru, a friend of Orihime's whom had short light-brown hair and dark-colored eyes, questioned. "If you're going to make up stories, at least try to make them sound more realistic."

Yuki jumped into the conversation as she moved closer to the group of females. "T-That did happen! I live with her, remember?! I saw it happen!" If the fake story made Orihime seem more weird to her friends, then she was gonna be more weird, too. "T-Tatsuki was there, too! You saw, right?!"

"I remember something like that happening," Tatsuki answered.

"See?!" Yuki exclaimed. "It's true!"

Michiru blinked. "It is? But...it's just so hard to believe. It's so unrealistic."

"I know!" Orihime munched on some of her lunch and spoke again after she swallowed. "I thought I was dreaming!" Yuki smiled, happy with the results of her cutting in, and she walked back over to Hana, Ichigo, Rukia, and Sayuri.

"You guys must have gone through a lot of shit last night," Hana commented, standing to Ichigo's left. " _Wish I had been there to witness it."_

"You could say that," Ichigo stated.

"You don't remember what happened last night?" Sayuri whispered to her sister once she was standing before her again. She stood in front of Hana, Ichigo, and Rukia.

Yuki continued to smile. "Well, I didn't want anyone to think she was super weird so I thought I'd go along with the memory you and Rukia gave her so that everyone would find me super weird as well, but thanks to Tatsuki, no one thinks that about either of us...yet. I mean, they already know we're weird but we aren't super weird so that's good!" She swayed to the left and right, looking up at the sky. "It's such a pretty, pretty day."

"I'd have to agree," Sayuri said. "It's quite a beautiful day." She smiled a tad.

Rukia stood behind Hana and Ichigo. She looked at Hana. "I've been meaning to ask you something."

"Hmm?" Hana turned around a bit to look at her.

"Did you know that Yuki was a half Soul Reaper before she and Sayuri reunited?" Rukia asked.

"Uh…" Hana hesitated. "Y-Yeah. She...told me quite a few years ago…" She looked away.

"Hana? Are you hiding something? You seem a bit suspicious," Sayuri commented.

Hana turned back to look towards where Sayuri and Yuki stood. "Wha?! Suspicious?! Me?! Pfft! As if!" She crossed her arms. "I'd never hide anything from anyone." She paused for a second. "Without good reason!" She mentally face-palmed, knowing that she made it completely obvious that she was hiding something from them. Well, most of them.

Rukia stared at her. "Hmm?"

"Nothing!" Hana placed her hand on Ichigo's shoulder and patted it. "So, Ichigo, are you gonna be taking up the responsibilities of a Soul Reaper and help Sayuri out with the Hollow stuff?" She was trying to divert the attention. And it ending up working.

"Yeah," Ichigo answered.

Rukia's eyes widened. "Really?" She was surprised he finally decided to help out.

"Don't get so excited," Ichigo told her without turning to look at her. "It's only for a little while."

"Sorry, Strawberry, but that's not up to you," Sayuri teased.

Ichigo glared at her. "Would you stop calling me that, damn it?!" Hana laughed and subconsciously kissed his cheek. He blinked, surprised by the sudden affection and he looked at her as light blush appeared in his cheeks without him realizing it. She simply smiled at him. Unbeknownst to them both, they had feelings for one another and those feelings were obvious to those around them.

Yuki looked over at Hana and Ichigo. She poked Sayuri's arm while she continued looking at the two of them. Sayuri turned towards Yuki. "Hmm?" she wondered. Yuki pointed at Hana and Ichigo, making Sayuri turn her head in their direction. "Ah, I see. They like each other," she commented.

Yuki giggled. "Uh huh. They just don't realize it yet."

"When they do, it will sure be one heck of a ride," Sayuri commented. Yuki nodded in agreement...

* * *

 ** _Shortest chapter so far._**

 ** _Word Count: 4,828_**


	5. Chapter 4: The Cursed Bird

**_Review from guest, uHHHHHm, on here before I removed this from this site: I read the first chapter and my impression on this story has just become a negative value. Please find out how JAPANESE NAMES WORK and then choose one for your characters. OR IF YOUR CHARACTER IS AN ARRANCAR, FIND AN APPROPRIATE SPANISH NAME FOR IT! UNDERSTAND! REALLY, JUST STOP WITH WHATEVER YOU ARE DOING WITH THIS STORY AND FIND A BETA WHO IS GOOD AT HIS OR HER WORK AND ASK THEM TO BETA THIS STORY FOR YOU. BECAUSE IT IS ABSOLUTELY TERRIBLE._**

 ** _My response to that review: Thank you for the negativity. We know how Japanese names are suppose to be used, but we are following the English Dub where they are used like the names here (if you are speaking of us not putting the last name before the first). We do not mind if you think this story is absolutely terrible; we knew that we'd get haters, even when we are only making this for fun. I hope that you have a lovely day and I hope you find the kind of fanfiction you were looking for since this one obviously wasn't it. :)_**

 ** _Edited, via Quotev, on 4/2/2017; Errors Fixed and Sentences/Descriptions Added_**

 _ **Warnings: Errors in Grammar, Spelling, Etc. Out-Of-Character Moments. This Fanfiction Series Contains Original Characters. This Fanfiction Series Follows The English Dub Anime (Like All of My Fanfictions Do). This Fanfiction Series Contains Original Ideas, Some Meant to be Explained in the Far Future. Don't Like that, Don't Complain About It and Just Simply Don't Read It. :) It's As Simple As That. Please, Do Enjoy! You Have Been Warned. Oh and Some Scenes Have Been Left Out Along With Some Dialogue, and Some Dialogue From the Anime Has Been Reworded Along With Some Scenes Have Been Changed by the Slightest.**_

* * *

Another day at Karakura High School arrived once more. Students were standing atop of the roof, having lunch. Hana, Ichigo, Rukia, Sayuri, and Yuki were standing around on a certain part of the roof. Yuki was sipping from her little juice box happily and Sayuri watched her with a smile. Hana had nothing with her, not being someone to eat during lunch often. Rukia was staring at a juice box she was holding. Ichigo was rubbing his forehead causing Hana to look at him. "May I ask why you keep touching your forehead?" Hana questioned Ichigo, grinning a little. She knew that he had gotten hurt, but knew that a Kido was used to heal his wounds.

"I'm just surprised that the burn healed up in just a day," he replied as he continued to rub his forehead. He had been burnt on the forehead when he battled Acidwire. He didn't expect it to heal so fast or at all because it was a burn and it usually takes a while, or never, for burns to heal completely.

"Well, you should never underestimate the power of a Soul Reaper's Kido," Hana informed him. "It's helpful in times of need."

Sayuri looked at her curiously. "How did you know about Kido?" Hana wasn't suppose to know much about Soul Reapers. She was, supposedly, just a human in Sayuri's, plus Ichigo's and Rukia's, eyes.

Hana answered without any hesitation. "Yuki told me." It wasn't a lie; Yuki indeed did tell her about some Soul Reaper information some time after they met, Kido being one. Other information Yuki had told her was already known to her, the information having been given to her by her parents sometime before their deaths. She hadn't been completely clueless; she hadn't only just known of Hollows and Soul Reapers as species that existed.

Sayuri looked confused and her attention turned towards Yuki. "How did you know about that?" Her knowing such information was unexpected.

"Ura told me," Yuki replied without any hesitation like Hana did seconds before. "Ura told me lots of things about the Soul Society and Soul Reapers after I was separated from you and Daddy. He took care of me and became my second Daddy." He had told her almost everything she needed to know and she passed most of that information to Hana since Urahara never really told her too much. Yuki loved Urahara greatly, him being a second father to her as she had stated aloud to Sayuri. "Ura played games with me all the time and he trained me. He always looked out for me and still does, even though I don't live with him anymore." She grinned. "Ura is the best Daddy ever."

"Huh." Sayuri thought for just a moment to herself. "I wonder how he knows so much," she whispered under her breath. She hoped to meet the man one day, if she hadn't already done so. " _...Best Dad huh? Oh, dear... Might need to keep that a secret from our real dad... He was barely around before the incident to begin with because of his duties as a Soul Reaper. Hearing that Yuki thinks of this Ura as the best father will really hurt him... Dad... He never really shows his true colors to anyone but me, Captain Ichimaru, and Captain Tosen. But he doesn't show his sadness of what happened to anyone...except me. He truly loves me and Yuki. He truly loved Mom... But now, he thinks I am all he has left and he wants to do what he thinks is best for me... That's why he had gone back to this vile plan of his that he had been plotting for such a long time before he met my mother... He has a better purpose to commence it... He told me so when I showed discomfort and disagree towards his actions when he explained everything to me for the first time...but I agreed to keep it all secret despite my disagreement because he is my father... I can't lose him and now, I can't lose Yuki either..."_ She shook her head, pulling herself out of her thoughts. She didn't want to think about all of that right now. She needed to focus on the present, not the past nor the future.

Rukia continued to stare at her juice box before she showed it to Ichigo. "How do I drink from this?" She was confused by many things within the World of the Living, the juice box just being one of them. Ichigo looked at her, hesitating to answer.

Hana looked towards Rukia and sweat dropped a tad. "Um… You can't be serious… Please tell me you are not being completely serious right now." This had to be some sort of joke.

Sayuri let out a small laugh before responding for Rukia, her eyes on Hana. "She's completely serious, Hana." Rukia had no clue how juice boxes worked.

Yuki looked towards Rukia and she giggled. "It's super easy, Rukia! Just put the straw thingy inside of the hole thingy at the top of the box!"

Sayuri laughed a little more. "Straw thingy? Hole thingy?" Her little sister was so amusing and innocent, it was just too cute. Sayuri couldn't help but wonder if the darkest of enemies or the darkest of Soul Reapers could be effected by Yuki's personality. She wondered if anyone with a cold heart could warm up to Yuki. It could be quite difficult for anyone to give Yuki the cold shoulder for long with how her personality was. It was wishful thinking but it would be amazing if Yuki could change someone just by being herself around them. She couldn't help but hope that maybe, just maybe, Yuki could make their father stop his plan...but then again, if he saw her as she is, their father would most likely want to continue the plans with much more effort than before.

Yuki grinned innocently. "Yeah! That's right! That's what I said!" Sayuri gave her a small hug, laughing even more at her innocent sister.

Rukia continued to stare at the juice box, still unsure as to how to use it. Ichigo looked at her. "Use the sharp end of your straw and poke a hole in it," he informed her, finally speaking.

"Straw?" Rukia questioned. "What straw?" She looked around her juice box, flipping it over multiple times. "I don't see one." It was clearly on the back of the box but she kept overlooking it. Ichigo sighed in frustration and moved to her side to help her out.

Mizuiro headed over to the females and Ichigo, his lunch in his hands. He looked at Ichigo and Rukia, seeing them standing beside each other. He temporarily paid no mind to Hana, Sayuri, and Yuki, even though he had saw them. "So, you're together again? You two seem pretty chummy." He was assuming that Ichigo had a crush or something on Rukia. He found it a bit odd that Ichigo was hanging out with the new girls, although he appeared closer to one of them than the other. However, it wasn't odd at all for Ichigo to be hanging out with Hana and Yuki.

"Does it look like we're chummy?" Ichigo asked Mizuiro.

"Maybe. To be honest, you do appear to be pretty close," Mizuiro stated.

Hana fumed, whispering to Sayuri and Yuki. "Are we chopped liver or something?"

Yuki tilted her head in confusion. "What does that mean?"

"It's an expression used for someone who's overlooked or ignored. Everyone but Hana seems to realize we're here, thereby ignoring us," Sayuri explained as best she could to her confused, innocent-minded sister. In other words, Mizuiro was ignoring them with his attention only on Ichigo and Rukia. He knew they were there, though, but he was more occupied with speaking to those certain two.

"Ohhh, I guess we are," Yuki said after a few seconds of processing what Sayuri told her. She looked at the sky and just stared at it. "Why is the sky always so pretty?" she asked her sister randomly. She was assuming her sister could answer that question.

"Definitely a thought. I think it's pretty simply because of how it changes," Sayuri told her. "And how it changes is a bit harder for me to explain to you, my little innocent twin."

A vein ended up popping at the left corner of Hana's head as she watched and listened to the conversation between Ichigo and Mizuiro. "Hello, I'm here too, you know." She was getting pretty angry over the fact that she was being ignored and was a bit jealous over what Mizuiro had said about Ichigo and Rukia seeming pretty close. She wasn't sure why she was jealous, though. Probably because she herself was the closest to Ichigo and Mizuiro was saying that Ichigo was close to Rukia.

Yuki pouted as she moved her gaze away from the sky. "Why are we being left out? Are we boring?"

"I smell jealousy," Sayuri commented, looking at Hana and observing how she was acting. "And no, we just...have nothing to say in regards to the conversation," she explained. "Which is part of why we are being ignored."

"Oh." Yuki sniffed the air and looked at her older sister. "You said you smelt something, but I don't smell anything." She tilted her head. "Were you joking?"

Sayuri smiled, letting out a giggle as she shook her head. "Yuki, it's just an expression. Don't take everything so literally." She continued to giggle, very amused with her younger twin. " _She's just so adorable and cute. Who wouldn't love her? Other than those bullies whom had harmed her, anyways."_

"Ohhh." Yuki nodded in understanding. "I see."

Mizuiro finally looked at Hana, Sayuri, and Yuki. "Sorry, I didn't mean to leave you three out. Ichigo and Rukia were the first ones I spotted."

Hana crossed her arms, not looking at Mizuiro. "Yeah, yeah. Whatever." She didn't believe him for a second. "You weren't even talking to Rukia, only Ichigo," she pointed out.

"I was only telling Ichigo that if people see him around Rukia so much, they'll think they are an item," Mizuiro explained. Not the best thing for him to tell her.

Hana looked at him, glaring slightly. "Excuse you but he hangs around Sayuri, Yuki, and I as well. It'll be hard for anyone to pinpoint who he'd be with. We're all just friends, best-friends, and good friends combined anyways so people will be wrong no matter whom they think Ichigo is with." She wasn't as angry as she had been, but she was still angry. She was also still a bit jealous, maybe even more so if people really would think Ichigo would end up with Rukia, whom he barely knows, versus thinking he'd end up with Hana, whom he knew much longer. Hana herself was still unsure as to why she felt envious about Mizuiro's words.

"Hana, I think you're turning green a bit," Sayuri joked, a smirk on her face.

"...What?" Hana looked at Sayuri, an eyebrow raised.

"Nothing~" Sayuri looked away from her, whistling as she pretended she never said anything.

Hana kept an eyebrow raised before shaking her head. "Okay then."

Ichigo spoke his opinion about the matter at hand. "If I really cared about what others thought, I would've dyed my hair black a long time ago." He looked at Hana after he placed a straw inside of his juice box; he had already helped Rukia while he spoke with Mizuiro. "Why do you care about something like that?"

"I don't," Hana answered quickly, too quickly. "I just don't like being ignored and I don't like feeling invisible." She stared at Ichigo for a moment before speaking again. "You know, I am really glad you don't care about what others think because I really like your orange hair. It would've been weird seeing it a different color." Her own hair wasn't exactly normal. There were red-heads out there but it was a bit rare to see red-heads with natural bright red-colored hair. Yuki's hair wasn't any much different, it being the very rare color of white and it caused her to stand out just as much as Ichigo, which explained why she was a target for bullies in the past just like Ichigo was a target for trouble.

Yuki tried to sip out more juice from her juice box, only to discover that it was empty. She frowned. "Aww… It's all gone… It was so yummy, too…" She pouted cutely.

"I can go get some more if you want," Sayuri offered, looking at her sister.

"Nah," Yuki said. "I can always get more later!" She smiled at Sayuri as her pout vanished.

Rukia was holding the straw needed for her to drink from her juice box, it having been found by Ichigo multiple minutes beforehand. "So, this is the straw," she stated quietly. "It's small." She looked at the juice box. "Now… Where do I poke it exactly?" She flipped the juice box around a few times, looking for where to enter the straw.

Mizuiro looked over at Rukia. "How are you?" he asked.

"Huh?" Rukia looked over at Mizuiro and sent a closed-eyed smile his way. "Oh, hi there! You're, um, Mizuiro?"

Mizuiro returned the smile back towards her. "Yeah, that's me. I'm Mizuiro Kojima. I really like-"

"Picking up chicks," Ichigo commented before he sipped his juice. Hana laughed, bringing her hands to her face as her face turned a light shade of red from her laughing so hard. She found it so funny because it was close enough to how Mizuiro was.

"Hmm? Picking up chicks?" Yuki looked at her sister. "Does he pick girls up and carry them?" She really did take a lot of things too seriously; perhaps she was far too innocent than what Sayuri had originally thought.

"Um... Not really. Mainly, it means that he likes to take girls out on dates," Sayuri explained.

Yuki rubbed the back of her head. "Oh, I get it. That's cool. You know a lot of things, Sayu. You're so smart!"

"I wouldn't go that far," Sayuri commented before turning back to everyone else. Yuki did the same, except she was swaying left and right.

Mizuiro pouted as he looked towards Ichigo. "Ichigo, that wasn't cool."

"He may look like a dork, Rukia, but he is a real player," Ichigo warned.

"Cut it out!" Mizuiro exclaimed. "Besides, you know that I only like older women."

"Like I said, Rukia, watch this one," Ichigo continued. Rukia was far much older than all of their ages combined.

"Watch him like a hawk," Hana commented, somewhat joking while also being somewhat serious. She had finally calmed down from her long fit of laughter. She had really needed that.

Keigo ran up to the six of them. "What's this?! Rukia and Sayuri, the hot transfer students, are here with you guys?!" There was some slight blush in his cheeks. Perhaps he was attracted to the new girls?

Hana rolled her eyes and spoke sarcastically as she stared at Keigo blankly. "Noo, these are just some clones of them that we created in a lab last night." Surprisingly, Yuki didn't make a comment of being confused, curious, or surprised; she knew what sarcasm was and she didn't take it seriously most of the time.

"Yep! The real Sayuri is off doing something. I'm here to fill in because she doesn't like school," Sayuri joked before laughing under her breath at Keigo's dumbfounded look. " _He can't actually believe this. Is he really that dense?"_

Yuki giggled, wanting in on the little joke that was very humorous. "Yeah and that something the real Sayuri is doing happens to be something really, really awesome! I don't know where the real Rukia could be though. Maybe she went shopping. Or to an amusement park."

"That's...so cool! Tell me that they're really clones!?" Keigo asked while yelling excitedly. He had actually bought the story. Good gosh.

Sayuri giggled a little before feigning a sigh. "I wish it were. Unfortunately, the real Sayuri and Rukia are stuck in a school where they are being forced to learn about stuff that has been taught to them once before," she stated. "In another school," she added quickly.

Keigo frowned and awed in disappointment while slouching, mumbling to himself. "It would've been so cool if you were clones…" He quickly straighten out his back, becoming kind of serious looking. "Why are you two over here anyways?"

"Ichigo picked them up," Mizuiro answered.

Keigo let out a cheerful yelp. "Good job, man! I didn't know you had it in you!"

"Whatever," Ichigo commented before sipping the rest of the juice from his juice box. His friends could believe whatever they wanted to believe.

"Welcome to this garden of manliness," Keigo told Rukia and Sayuri.

Yuki tilted her head. "Heyyy, I'm not a dude," she complained. Sayuri gave her an one-armed side hug, patting her head with her free hand while mumbling 'there, there' under her breath to Yuki.

"Garden of manliness?" Hana's vein popped again. "Yuki and I are standing right here, you know."

Keigo looked at her. "Yuki's like a child and you are, well, you're more like a dude than a chick. You're definitely considered one of the dudes!"

Hana was trying very hard to hold in her want to strangle Keigo to death. "I am nowhere close to being a dude! I am extremely sure that I wasn't born with a dick, making me completely female!" She crossed her arms angrily, glaring at Keigo. She didn't like being called a dude when she clearly wasn't one.

Ichigo sighed. "Keigo, just take back what you said before you make the situation worse. Hana's a chick, regardless of how she acts." He knew that Keigo tended to say the wrong type of shit whenever he opened his mouth.

"You act like a guy though," Keigo told Hana, ignoring Ichigo's warning and statement. "I mean, girls don't usually fight."

Hana frowned. "Tatsuki is tough and fights."

"Yeah, but you act like a guy and she doesn't," Keigo stated.

"Hmph." Hana pushed pass Keigo, walking away from the group. "I know when I've been insulted. See ya later." She made her way off of the rooftop, no one following her.

"Nice going, Keigo," Ichigo commented flatly. He glanced towards where Hana had gone. It took every fiber of his being not to go after her.

"Uh, sorry," Keigo apologized.

Yuki pouted. "Aww… Hana left…" She smacked her lips and stared into space silently for a few seconds. "...I want a cookie."

"Then we can go get some," Sayuri suggested. She wanted to please Yuki in any way she could.

"There aren't any cookies here, though. Can we buy cookies later?" Yuki asked hopefully.

"Of course!" Sayuri exclaimed with a bright smile.

"Yay!" Yuki cheered brightly. "Let's buy many cookies of different types! Maybe we can make a dessert of some kind using the cookies! It would be so, so fun!" She continued speaking about cookies and desserts but in a mumble, talking to herself mainly. Sayuri snickered a bit and smiled, watching her.

"Hey, Chad," Ichigo greeted, spotting Chad suddenly standing behind Keigo. Chad hummed in response while raising up a hand to give everyone a wave of sorts. Ichigo continued speaking. "So, Chad, what's with the bandages?" Chad had bandages wrapped around his forehead and around his right hand.

Keigo turned to look at Chad. "Whoa, you got hurt. What happened?" He was showing some concern towards his giant friend.

Yuki stopped her random mumble rant about cookies and desserts to look in Chad's direction. Her eyes widened greatly when she noticed the bandages. "Chad, are you okay?! What happened?! How did you get hurt?! You'll be alright, right?!"

"I had a mishap. A steel beam fell on my head," Chad answered, stating his answer as if the incident was nothing too serious to have had occurred.

Yuki's mouth dropped open in surprise. She may not know about a lot of shit, but she knew what a steel beam was and that it was impossible to survive a hit on the head by one. Chad's head should have been flatten like a pancake. "H-How are you still alive? I-I thought something like that could kill someone..."

"That's correct, Yuki. But it's would, not could. A steel beam would kill you if it landed on you. It's amazing you're still alive, Chad," Sayuri stated. "What resistance," she muttered under breath. If his story was true, how could he be alive right now? It was impossible, too impossible. But yet, it wasn't impossible for him to survive it. She was stumped.

Chad continued to explain his injuries. "My hand got hurt by someone on a motorcycle when they ran into me. The rider that hit me got banged up pretty bad. The force of the collision threw him off and he was knocked out, so I picked the guy up and carried him to the hospital."

"No wonder you were late," Mizuiro commented.

"The only thing I'm wondering is what Chad's body is made of," Ichigo said, staring at Chad.

"I'm sorry you got hurt." Yuki frowned as she looked up at Chad and spoke to him more. "I hope the man you helped will be okay, too." Chad placed down a cage with a white parakeet inside. "Aww, how cute." Yuki smiled and crouched down beside the cage, looking at the parakeet. She tilted her head gently to the left as she stared at it.

"Where'd you get that bird?" Keigo asked in wonder.

The parakeet spoke, looking at Yuki. "My name's Yuichi Shibata. It's nice to meet you. What's your name?"

Yuki continued to smile, unfazed by the fact that the bird had talked like a human being. "I'm Yuki Hirai." She reached into the cage and lightly pet Yuichi's head. "You sound really adorable, Yuichi. Oh, and nice to meet you, too!" She let out a little giggle and continued to smile down at Yuichi.

Ichigo, Rukia, and Sayuri stared at Yuichi while Yuki pet him. Keigo leaned over and stared at Yuichi. "That's amazing!" Keigo exclaimed. "The way this bird can talk is phenomenal! My name's Keigo Asano. Can you say that?"

"Don't bother him, Keigo," Yuki told, swatting her hand at him and making him move away.

Ichigo turned his gaze from Yuichi to Chad. "Where did you get this bird, Chad?"

"Someone…" Chad took a very long pause before continuing. "...gave me him."

Keigo got loud, pointing his finger at Chad as he stood beside him. "There you go again, getting lazy and cutting your story short! We wanna know the whole deal! You can't just keep doing that to us!"

"That was the whole story." Chad sat down beside the cage and began to feed Yuichi some crumbs silently.

Yuki shifted so that she was sitting on her knees instead of crouching. She continued to smile and she looked at Chad. "Can I feed him, too, Chad?" Chad didn't say anything but handed her a few crumbs. "Thanks." She placed one of the crumbs to Yuichi's beak and Yuichi ate it happily.

While Chad, Keigo, Mizuiro, and Yuki were distracted by Yuichi, Ichigo spoke with Rukia and Sayuri about the talking parakeet, a.k.a. Yuichi. "What's going on with the bird? Is there a spirit within it?" He had never seen something like this before.

Rukia nodded slightly. "That would be correct. We can't leave it as it is or it might eventually become a Hollow. It should be easy for us to perform a Konso on him tonight." No point in holding a Konso off until it was too late. Better soon than never.

"We can even do it sometime sooner than tonight," Sayuri commented. Better sooner than later.

Ichigo looked annoyed. "That's just great. That's just what I need, another sleepless night."

"You're acting as if you do it every night, strawberry," Sayuri teased. "You only just started this a few nights ago and you're already acting as if it's getting closer to your happy retirement." She could tell that Ichigo still wasn't all that happy with having to help her with the duties of a Soul Reaper but she was sure that he'd get over it eventually.

"Shut up." Ichigo glared at her. In response, Sayuri stuck her tongue out at him before grinning, clearly unfazed by his glare.

* * *

After what seemed to be a difficult day, Ichigo finally returned home. "I'm home," he stated as he walked through the front door. As he headed inside, he looked around and there was no one in sight. "I wonder where everyone is," he muttered. He walked further into the house when he suddenly thought about Hana. She was nowhere to be seen, him haven't had seen her since lunch. "Hana, where could you be?" he asked himself as he slowly began to grow worried about his missing best-friend.

Ichigo was pulled out of his thoughts when Karin pushed by him. "Out of the way!" she yelled. She was wearing a nurse's uniform. Something terrible must've occurred, like an accident or something, for her to have to be wearing that type of attire.

"Huh? Hey, where's the fire, Karin? Why are you rushing?" Ichigo asked, looking towards where she ran.

Yuzu walked by him next, wearing a nurse's attire as well, and she had a box of supplies in her hand. "Welcome home, Ichigo," she hurriedly greeted.

"What's going on?" he asked her.

"There was an accident, a big car wreck down at the corner," Yuzu explained, pausing her speed-walking temporarily to look at him as she had explained the situation.

"A car wreck?" Ichigo questioned. Yuzu resumed her speed-walking and Ichigo heard his father yelling into a phone in a nearby room. He walked in there the moment his father hung up the phone, his father having asked for more hospital beds. "Hey, Dad. So, is there anything I can do?" Ichigo asked, wanting to be of some use.

"No. Just assume the fetal position and stay out of the way." Isshin walked around Ichigo, heading out of the room.

Ichigo went into the hallway and did what his father suggested, getting into a fetal position against the wall. Some time went by and the sound of his family walking in his direction made him look up towards them. His eyes widened when he saw his father and little sisters helping Chad towards the room he was sitting near and he stood up quickly. He was about to approach his family to help them carry Chad when he noticed Hana walking behind them, carrying the cage Yuichi was in with a very burnt and bloody right arm. "Hana! Chad! What the hell?! Are you okay?!" Ichigo exclaimed, his eyes remaining locked between Chad and Hana.

"I'm fine, Ichigo," Hana answered when Chad didn't. "Chad's wounds are far worse than my own so please, worry more about him than me." She gritted her teeth when a shot of pain rose in her wounded arm. It definitely didn't make things better with her carrying Yuichi's cage with her injured arm. In fact, it only made the pain worse but she did her best to ignore it. She moved to where she was nearly walking beside Ichigo's family and Chad.

"What happened?!" Ichigo asked loudly as he looked at Hana's wound.

"Not the time for questions and answers, Ichigo. Help your family out with Chad," Hana instructed him, avoiding the question. Ichigo walked towards them and helped his family move Chad into the nearby room just like Hana suggested. Hana followed behind them and watched as the Kurosaki family helped Chad sit down. Hana approached them and placed Yuichi's cage down by Chad before she started heading out of the room.

Isshin looked at her. "Hanako, where are you going? You're injured, too. I need to treat your wound." Only during serious times was Isshin completely mature. Sometimes almost completely mature.

"I'm only stepping outside to give you some space," Hana stated without turning to look at him. She exited through the open doorway without saying another word and she headed down the hall shortly before stopping, leaning with her back against the wall opposite of where the room was.

"Hana, wait." Ichigo moved to follow her but was stopped by his father when he grabbed his arm. "Wha-?" He looked towards his father.

In Isshin's hand was a first-aid kit. "I figured you'd want to help her?" He had a grin on his face and a knowing look in his eyes. He knew that Ichigo was worried about Hana the most, even if Ichigo himself didn't realize that fact.

Ichigo took the first-aid kit quickly. "Yeah. Thanks," he answered hurriedly before running after Hana. He spotted her removing herself from the wall, watching as she moved to sit down in one of two chairs that were located near her. He approached her quickly and sat in the other chair, sitting beside her. "Hana-" he started.

"I see your dad let you take a first-aid kit," Hana remarked, eyeing the kit that was now in Ichigo's lap.

"Uh, yeah, but you can heal your own injuries, right?" Ichigo questioned her. He remembered seeing her ability once, the night where he became a substitute Soul Reaper. He hadn't seen her use it again since but it had only been a few days or so since then.

"Yeah but questions might be asked on how I healed so fast," Hana told him. "So, I guess I'll let you treat my wound and bandage it up. I can heal it later on when I'm alone and I'll keep the bandages on until it's around the time I am suppose to remove them so that no questions are asked."

"That sounds really complicated," Ichigo commented with a half-smile. He opened up the first-aid kit.

"Yeah, well, it's the only idea I can think of right now. Kind of hard to think when you are in pain." Hana held her injured arm out towards Ichigo, wincing in the process which made Ichigo frown. "You asked me earlier what happened. A Hollow happened but I couldn't just...say that in front of your family. I was helping Chad and Yuichi." She hadn't been there when Yuichi was introduced to everyone during lunch but she was introduced to him on her way to the Clinic with Chad.

"That was reckless," Ichigo told her, glancing at her.

Hana gave him a look. "Ichigo, you would've done the same thing so don't go telling me that what I did was reckless."

"Alright," Ichigo sighed. He and Hana both grew quiet as he placed disinfectant onto Hana's wound. Hana hissed a bit from the stinking sensation. "Sorry," Ichigo mumbled in apology. He probably should've warned her first. Ichigo gently wrapped a bandage around her wound afterwards, securing it into place. "There."

"Thanks," Hana said. She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, not noticing the faint blush appearing in Ichigo's cheeks as she did so. "Go give the kit back to your dad."

"Hana-" Ichigo started. He didn't want to leave her alone.

"I'm okay. Really, I am. I'm just really tired is all," Hana told him. "Now, shoo." She gave him a small smile as she gestured for him to go away. He sighed, nodding and headed back to the room...

* * *

It was late at night. Inside of Ichigo's bedroom, he and Hana stood in front of his bed where Rukia and Sayuri were sitting. Hana took her eyes off the females to look at her bandaged right arm, placing her left hand over it and focusing on it to heal her wound; she didn't have to see it but she had to be focused. Yuki suddenly came into the room via the window moments before Hana completely healed herself. "Hey," she greeted, grinning a tad.

Hana jumped, losing her focus and she looked up. "Yuki? What in the hell are you doing? I've never seen you do something like this before in my life." It surprised her more to see Yuki coming through the window while she wasn't in her Soul form.

"I wanted to make sure you were okay, Hana… I hadn't seen you since lunch at school so I figured I'd come here at this time of night, figuring you'd be here with Ichigo." Yuki smiled brightly, no longer just grinning. "I was correct. So, what were you guys talking about?"

"Nothing yet," Sayuri answered. Which was true. They had all been completely silent, up until Yuki appeared.

"Well, let's talk about that Hollow that harmed Chad and I," Hana suggested before continuing. "It just came out of nowhere. Like it hides before suddenly appearing. I mean, all Hollows do that but this Hollow's methods are far different than that. It wasn't there but then, it suddenly was there in an instant. I think it's just after Chad or maybe Yuichi."

"What are you going to do?" Yuki asked. Her smile was no longer there, replaced by a frown. "Will you try to get rid of it?"

Rukia looked at her. "Ichigo is going to find it with Sayuri, don't worry. Everything will be fine."

"Hopefully, it'll be easy enough to do," Sayuri commented.

"It'll be dealt with tomorrow," Rukia stated. "There is no sign of it right now."

Hana hissed a bit and looked at her bandaged arm. "Ouch. It's starting to sting a little bit." She placed her hand over it and began to focus again, going back to healing the wound as her hand began to glow red for a second time that very night.

"Are you sure you can heal that?" Ichigo asked her as he looked at her, frowning.

Hana did not answer until she was finished. "Yes, I am very sure because I just did so." She looked at him and nearly blushed when she realized he was staring at her. "I'm fine now."

Ichigo wasn't entirely convinced that she would be alright. "Really?"

"Yeah." Hana stared back at him and smiled. "I'm okay for sure now so please stop looking so concerned and worried."

Ichigo finally smiled. "Alright. Good."

* * *

Morning came slowly. It had been just like any normal morning, but then, while Karin was discovered to be somehow sick, Chad was discovered to be missing from the room he had been placed in and he had taken Yuichi with him. Hana, Rukia, Sayuri, and Yuki were all helping Ichigo search for him. Why he had left and where he had gone were unknown facts to the five of them but with a Hollow on the loose, they had to find him quickly.

"Gah, this is taking forever," Sayuri groaned as she looked around. She still wasn't very fond of being patient.

Hana kicked a nearby pole angrily. "How in the hell are we going to find him? We have no idea where he could have possibly gone to."

"We'll find him, Hana," Yuki stated. "I just hope we find him before the Hollow does…" Despite her fear of Hollows, she was going to help find Chad. She feared losing a friend far more than a Hollow, that's for certain.

"Well, right now, the Hollow is obviously hiding. Otherwise, we would've found Chad already," Hana pointed out.

"How are we going to find the Hollow if it's just hiding until it wants to attack Chad?" Ichigo questioned.

"How the fuck would I know?" Hana placed her hands on her hips. "This shit is too complicated for me to handle."

"This one seems to be very good at hiding," Sayuri commented. "Better than other Hollows I've seen." She looked at Hana. "I think you were right about its methods being different than those of a normal Hollow."

"Yeah. Well, we definitely can't wait, that's for sure." Hana sighed. "We need to hurry up and figure something out." She bite her left thumb nail as she thought. " _How are we going to find him?"_ She glanced around at everyone; they seemed to be deep in thought. Ichigo, on the other hand, had his eyes closed for some reason. "Hmm? Ichigo?"

Yuki pulled out of her own thoughts, having been struggling to come up with an idea, and looked towards Ichigo. "What are you doing, Ichi?" She tilted her head to the left, curious.

"Ichigo?" Rukia watched him curiously. She started to feel something strange. "What's this sensation I'm feeling?" she wondered aloud. She looked towards Sayuri. "Can you feel it, too?" she asked out of curiosity.

"Yeah," Sayuri answered, her eyes on Ichigo.

"I can feel it," Yuki commented, looking at Rukia.

" _What he is trying to do?"_ Hana thought as she watched Ichigo.

Rukia realized, after a moment, what Ichigo was trying to do. " _He's trying to feel the soul in that bird. Even I can't sense such a weak soul at this distance and that soul is partially eclipsed by the bird's soul. To hone in on it from so far away..."_ Suddenly, she and the others could see white spirit ribbons surrounding them. " _He did it!"_ Ichigo gripped onto one of the ribbons for a moment before they all vanished.

"I know where he is!" Ichigo exclaimed before he started running off.

"Wait for us, you knucklehead!" Hana ran after him. " _He's so damn reckless!"_

Yuki gripped Sayuri's hand. "Let's go!"

"Hey!" Sayuri stumbled for a moment before picking herself up and following Yuki. Rukia followed behind them. As the five of them ran, it didn't take long for all of them to spot Chad running out of an alleyway and he looked at them. They stopped running but Chad started running the opposite way of where they were, heading down the street.

"Chad, wait! You need my help, hold up!" Ichigo yelled.

"We need to go after him before we lose him again!" Hana stated in exclamation.

"Ichigo!" they heard someone yell weakly. Hana, Ichigo, Rukia, Sayuri, and Yuki turned their heads to see Karin barely standing with her hand against a pole, keeping herself up.

"Karin?" Ichigo questioned. "What are you doing here? You look really sick."

Hana grew a concerned expression, an expression that matched the one on Ichigo's face. "Are you okay, Karin? You shouldn't be out here." Karin fell to her knees. "Karin?!" She watched as Ichigo rushed over to his little sister. She almost rushed over to Karin as well but remained where she was, growing a bit more concerned.

"Ichi, you need to get her back home," Yuki instructed. She was frowning, sad to see the condition Karin was in. She didn't know why Karin looked so unwell but she knew that she didn't like it. She didn't like it at all.

"Yuki's right," Rukia commented. "Get Karin home now. We can handle this."

"Go ahead, Strawberry," Sayuri commented.

"I can't just let you guys handle this!" Ichigo complained as he looked back at them, his arms around Karin. "What if you need me?!"

"We'll be fine. It'll be four against one Hollow, five including Chad. If you're really that worried about something happening to us, then move your ass. Get her home fast and then come help us out," Hana stated. "Now, go!"

Ichigo sighed. "Alright. Be careful." He picked Karin up and started running in the direction they had come from, heading home while carrying Karin in his arms.

Hana watched him run off. " _Hurry back."_ She looked at Rukia, Sayuri, and Yuki. "I guess we should start going after Chad before we lose him. Again."

"Let's go after him! Let's go after him!" Sayuri chanted. "I'm ready! Let's do this shit!"

"Don't be so hasty! We need to think rationally," Rukia scolded. Sayuri pouted, looking down at her feet.

"We can't just stand around, Rukia. We need to get moving." Hana looked at Yuki. "It's not too late for you to go with Ichigo. You can catch up to him."

Yuki shook her head rapidly. "N-No, I want to face my fears! I don't want to be scared of Hollows anymore!" Hana smiled at her, happy to hear her determination to get rid of her fear.

"There you go, Yuki. I'll be right there with you every step of the way," Sayuri stated, smiling as well. She was proud of Yuki. She was just a step closer to losing the fear that could get her killed.

"Alright, we seriously need to get moving. Like right now," Hana stated. "We're gonna lose Chad otherwise." Rukia, Sayuri, and Yuki nodded. The four females began running in the direction Chad had run off, hoping to get to him before the Hollow did...

* * *

 ** _Word Count: 7,376_**


	6. Chapter 5: Shrieker Goes Down

_**Warnings: Errors in Grammar, Spelling, Etc. Out-Of-Character Moments. This Fanfiction Series Contains Original Characters. This Fanfiction Series Follows The English Dub Anime (Like All of My Fanfictions Do). This Fanfiction Series Contains Original Ideas, Some Meant to be Explained in the Far Future. Don't Like that, Don't Complain About It and Just Simply Don't Read It. :) It's As Simple As That. Please, Do Enjoy! You Have Been Warned. Oh and Some Scenes Have Been Left Out Along With Some Dialogue, and Some Dialogue From the Anime Has Been Reworded Along With Some Scenes Have Been Changed by the Slightest.**_

 ** _Edited, via Quotev, on 4/5/2017; Errors Fixed and Sentences/Descriptions Added_**

* * *

Hana, Rukia, Sayuri, and Yuki were running after Chad. They were a little ways behind him, thanks to them being distracted by all their talking. He was, not surprisingly, faster than them but they were still able to somewhat keep up with him despite that fact and despite that it had taken them a while before they finally had went after him. "Damn it, he's really fucking fast," Hana remarked as she panted lightly while she ran alongside the three females.

"He may be fast but Chad is still a big guy. He'll slow down at some point," Sayuri commented, receiving a nod of agreement from Rukia.

Hana groaned, not believing that for a second. She knew Chad and how odd he could be so she didn't think he'd be getting tired any time soon. "Don't mind me asking, but uh, what the hell are we gonna do if we finally catch him?" Hana asked out of curiosity, still panting lightly. "It's not like we can, you know, keep him from running off yet again, especially if we'll have to stop and deal with the Hollow that's after 'em."

"We could use a Kido to keep him from running off," Sayuri suggested. That was probably their best chance at keeping him from doing anything like running away more.

"I guess that sounds like a plan," Hana stated quickly. "Yuki, what do you think of the pla-" She was cut off by the sound of Yuki letting out a terrified, high pitched scream. She, followed by Rukia and Sayuri, stopped running to look at Yuki, seeing her lean against the wall while she looked around frantically as she panted and shook from fright. "Yuki?" Hana questioned softly.

"D-Didn't you hear it?!" Yuki exclaimed, her eyes searching everywhere as she looked for the Hollow. "The Hollow made a grunting noise!"

"Where are you, you fucking Hollow?!" Sayuri yelled to the empty space. She was pissed that the Hollow had caused her sister so much fright, even though she knew that her sister feared them greatly regardless. Still, she wasn't about to stand around and let the Hollow continue scaring Yuki.

"You smell good," the females heard the Hollow say. They were all looking around now, searching for the well hidden Hollow. It suddenly appeared behind Rukia, its masked face very close to her. "You all smell so wonderful," it said with a rather rough tone to his voice. "Delicious. I will eat your souls. I'll start with you!" It opened its mouth to proceed in trying to eat her. Rukia flipped away from the Hollow, avoiding the attack. Hana and Sayuri moved away as well, Sayuri pulling Yuki along with her. The females faced the Hollow and studied its appearance; it was large like most Hollows were, its body resembling a frog. The Hollow eyed them all, taking notice of the fact that he had seen one of them before. "Aren't you the girl from before?" it asked, speaking to Hana.

Hana glared at it. "So, you're the bastard that attacked Chad, Yuichi, and I yesterday. You sure are one ugly fucker." She hadn't seen the Hollow before when it attacked her due to it hiding itself. She wasn't going to let him get away with that. She was going to do her best to help Rukia and Sayuri deal with him, knowing fully well that Yuki wasn't going to do much due to her fear. If she had to reveal her secret to them, then so be it because that Hollow needed to go down. However, all of them were stuck as they were and would only be able to do things such as dodge for the time being.

"A-And scary," Yuki commented from behind Sayuri. She needed to be brave, she knew that, but she couldn't get over her fear that easily; no one can get over their fear so easy and quickly because it took time and effort. For now, she was just completely terrified and she couldn't stop staring at the Hollow in fear.

"I've seen worse," Sayuri muttered under her breath. She glared at the Hollow. "Nevertheless, you deserve to rot in Hell!"

"Just who are you girls?" the Hollow, named Shrieker, asked. He seemed quite curious about them. The females made no response, most of them glaring at him while Yuki just continued to stare in fear and shake like a leaf. There really was no need for them to answer him anyways because he was a Hollow after all.

Rukia jumped towards Shrieker, her right knee connecting with his mask. He grunted in surprise. She landed on his back, standing directly behind his mask and began to say an incantation. "Ruler, the mask of blood and flesh, all things of the universe that fly. That which takes-" She grunted as she jumped into the air, staying behind Shrieker. "-In the name of truth and temperance, dig your claws into the wall of sinless dreams!" She held her left arm out, palm up and facing Shrieker. She placed her right hand on her left elbow. "Bakudo Thirty-Three, Pale Fire Crash!" What appeared to be an explosion occurred on the back of Shrieker and loads of smoke appeared. However, it didn't seem to harm him at all.

"Eh?" Hana sweat dropped a bit. "Uh, Rukia?" She suddenly exploded from anger. "What the fuck was that?! That didn't do shit! I think all that did was made it mad!" What the hell was she thinking? She hadn't made the situation any better than it had been, only having made it worse it seemed.

Yuki gulped. "Sayu, m-maybe you should try doing that, too? I-I mean, you're still all Soul Reaper unlike Rukia." In other words, unlike Rukia, Sayuri still had all of her powers. So, maybe if she did the same attack, it could do more damage? Sayuri didn't answer yet, mostly because Hana had started speaking again.

"She may still have her powers but wouldn't she be weaker inside of the Gigai? If so, her attack will have the same results as Rukia did, maybe even slightly better results but not enough to take this thing down. Also, wouldn't the Gigai get damaged if she exits it right now?" Hana questioned, her questions referring to Sayuri. She wasn't expecting any answers, though.

"I know, I'm trying to figure out what to do and I don't know about the Gigai. This is my first time ever being in one." Sayuri turned to Rukia. "Rukia, don't be so reckless next time!"

Rukia looked shocked when Shrieker came out unscathed, landing by her friends. "What? I didn't even hurt him?!"

"Well, duh!" Hana exclaimed. "Where have you been the last few moments? In la la land?"

Shrieker chuckled as he stared down at the females again, looking mainly at Rukia. "I see. I know what you are and what your little friends must be, too. I know that spell, it's a Soul Reaper's spell, but yours was so weak, it had no bite to it. Too bad."

Yuki shook harder from fear, keeping herself behind Sayuri at all times. "I-It's right." Unknowingly, she had revealed Hana's little secret. She hadn't been thinking clearly, fear clouding her train of thought. She was just so, so scared. It was a surprise that she hadn't pissed herself from the fright she was feeling. She held onto Sayuri tightly, afraid to let go of her.

Sayuri caught what Yuki had stated, blinking in slight confusion. "Wait. Does that mean…?" She turned her head to look at Hana, her eyes showing that she was surprised now rather than still confused. "Hana, you're a Soul Reaper?" she asked. She didn't have to wait long for a confirmation of sorts.

"Uh, sort of. Guess that secret's out at last." Hana sighed loudly. "Oh well. Just don't tell Ichigo. I rather be the one to reveal such news to him. He shouldn't hear it from anyone else." She feared that he would freak out if he learned what she was, which was why she kept her 'race' a secret, but she'd rather tell him the secret herself because she didn't know how he'd react if he heard it from someone else.

"Not the best time to be having conversations," Rukia scolded them. Lucky for them, Shrieker did not attack but it was uncertain as to why he hadn't. Perhaps he was interested in what they had to say. Or maybe he just didn't feel like killing them so easily.

Surprisingly, Shrieker was the most talkative Hollow any of them had ever encountered. "You all just smell so delicious. This brings back wonderful memories. You see, I've already had the pleasure of devouring two other Soul Reapers who tried to help this boy pass on to the Soul Society and I assure you, they were mighty good eating. I look forward to devouring the four of you," he told them.

"Oh, just go to Hell where you belong already!" Hana yelled angrily, glaring at Shrieker with more hatred. "I'm getting tired of hearing you talk!" Shrieker simply chuckled at her words.

"The boy?" Rukia questioned. Her eyes narrowed as she stared up at Shrieker. "You mean the human soul that's in that bird?"

"That's right," Shrieker answered.

"Bastard!" Hana yelled.

"P-Poor Yuichi…" Yuki mumbled. "B-Being chased by this scary H-Hollow. H-He must be very terrified..."

Sayuri glared at Shrieker. "Why?!"

"Why is it you've pursued this poor kid so relentlessly?" Rukia asked.

"I might be more inclined to give you an answer if the four of you allow me to have just a little nibble." Shrieker's yellow eyes narrowed a bit as he stared down at the females. He knew they wouldn't fall for that but he couldn't help that he wanted to say it. He wanted to eat them so badly.

"You Hollow scum," Rukia insulted.

Yuki began to sob, her fear finally creating waterworks. "I don't want to be eaten! I don't want to die! Not like that! It's too horrible! Please, don't let me be eaten, Sayuri!" She gripped onto Sayuri's clothing even tighter, shaking more than she had been the whole entire time.

"We won't let you get eaten, Yuki," Sayuri stated as she tried to comfort her sister. She wanted to hug Yuki but she couldn't risk not being able to dodge an attack. She had to keep her eyes on Shrieker, the worst kind of Hollow she had ever seen so far.

"Yuki, please calm down. You gotta face your fear," Hana stated calmly. "You can do this. We believe in you. You just got to believe in yourself."

"I can't!" Yuki sobbed out. "I can't let it go! I can't! All I keep seeing in my head is that night I lost everything!" She feared Hollows ever since she lost her family. Or, in other words, ever since she got separated from her family that still remained.

"Yuki, it's okay," Sayuri reassured. "You have us with you."

"I'm tired of hearing you talk. I'm hungry." Shrieker launched at the females, ready to kill. Hana and Rukia jumped out of the way. Sayuri had to pull Yuki out of the way with her, her right leg getting injured slightly in the process and she winced from the slight pain she began to immediately feel. Her grip on Yuki loosened and they were slightly separated from each other.

"Say-EEK!" Yuki was quickly knocked into the nearby wall by Shrieker, making her gasp loudly as she spit up some blood. That was the second time a Hollow had slammed her into something but at least he didn't constantly do so like the last one. She groaned as she sniffled and sobbed, pinned to the wall by Shrieker's large hand. She was soon picked up by him. "L-Let me go!" She barely, and somehow, managed to pound her fists against his large hand but it wasn't doing her any good.

"Yuki! Let her go, you bastard!" Hana yelled. She dodged a hit from Shrieker's free hand as he swung at her. "Missed m-AH!" She was slammed against the wall, just like Yuki had short moments beforehand, and she was soon in Shrieker's other hand. "Motherfuckin…! Let go!" A little bit of blood was trickling down the left corner of her lower lip, having been slammed very roughly against the wall.

"Damn it!" Sayuri yelled as she looked for an opening of any kind. It wouldn't have mattered; she couldn't do anything very useful while she was in her Gigai. "Put them down, you freak!"

"This will be easier than I hoped," Shrieker commented. "I wanted a challenge but this is just stupid. It's too ea-" His sentence was cut off by Chad, whom had came back to help them, as Chad successfully landed a punch to Shrieker's masked face, sending him flying and making him drop the two females.

"Oooofff!" Hana and Yuki grunted as they landed roughly on the ground below them.

"Yuki! Hana! Tell me you two are okay!" Sayuri demanded as she ran over to them. She needed to make sure that they were alright. She needed to know that they weren't too badly hurt. She was the most worried about Yuki.

"I-I'm okay," Yuki responded, sniffling as her tears slowly dried. "Everywhere kind of hurts but I'm okay, I guess..." Not to mention that she had coughed up some blood...

"What the hell just happened?" Hana had ignored Sayuri's request, asking a question instead. She looked around, quickly spotting Chad not too far from them. "Huh? Chad?" He had been the one to rescue them? That was rather odd.

"I hit something," Chad commented after a moment, keeping his left fist raised.

"Yeah. No kidding, man." Hana removed herself off of the ground. "Nice job but how the hell did you do that?" She quickly raised her arms, her elbows bent and her palms up. "You know what?" She waved her hands. "Nevermind. You probably wouldn't know either. And probably wouldn't answer regardless anyways."

Rukia stared at Chad, shocked and surprised by what had occurred. " _He actually landed a punch on the Hollow. But how? Can he see spirits?"_ She sweat-dropped as she watched Chad start punching the air in front of him, swinging both of his fists blindly. " _Hmm. I'm guessing no."_

"Uh…" Yuki watched Chad from where she sat on the ground, having not stood up yet. Her fear was temporarily forgotten as she worried about her friend who was acting weird. "Chad? You okay? Why are you punching the air?"

"Wrong place, buddy," Hana commented, trying to inform Chad of his unacknowledged error. "He, uh, isn't standing at the moment. And he isn't exactly near where you currently are..." Seemingly, Chad didn't seem to hear her and he continued punching the air, attempting to locate the Hollow.

"Still." Sayuri helped Yuki off the ground and she checked to see if she had any injuries at all. She found no open wounds and figured Yuki was just going to have bruises. Although, she was a bit worried about there being some internal damage due to the blood she saw Yuki cough up. "That was a really decent punch he landed." Yuki rubbed her eyes and she sniffled a bit more, her fear slowly becoming strong again.

Hana nodded in agreement. "Yeah, it sure was and I'm glad it happened." She stretched, cracking her back. "Ugh. My back is definitely going to be hurting quite a bit later. I'm glad I can't feel it right now. The pain, I mean."

Shrieker finally sat up, rubbing his masked face as he chuckled. "It was just a lucky punch. He scared me for a second. I thought he could actually see me." He moved his hand from his mask and was suddenly sent flying onto his back as Chad landed another hard punch to his face.

Hana's mouth dropped but she quickly shook her head and clapped, snapping out of her surprised state quickly. "Damn! Bravo! Go, Chad! You're the man for someone who can't see Hollows!" She rather enjoyed witnessing that again.

Sayuri seemed to be deep in thought for a second before speaking up. "Are you sure he can't see it? He landed two hits."

"He punched the air, though, remember?" Hana pointed out as she crossed her arms. "You know, that was actually pretty amusing the second time since I was able to actually see him do it." She hadn't actually saw him do it the first time, only just seeing Shrieker fly to the ground as he let go of her and Yuki.

"I will agree on that," Sayuri agreed. "It was very amusing that time around. I hadn't paid much attention to when it happened the first time." Her eyes had been focused on Shrieker at the time when he had held Hana and Yuki temporarily captive in his hands. She hadn't noticed Chad until after she made sure the two females were alright.

"Alright, I got him again," Chad commented a moment after he had punched Shrieker, clearly pleased with himself.

"Amazing…" Rukia stared at Chad, shocked and surprised once more. "He managed to hit it twice." She just couldn't believe her eyes. How was he knocking the Hollow down? Just how? " _How...? I know that he can't see it or even hear it. By sheer force of will, this human is calmly facing down an enemy whose power he cannot even imagine. It's as if he has no sense of fear at all."_

"Damn you!" Shrieker grunted as he jumped into the air and he began to fly, bat wings extending from his arms. He let out a laugh.

Hana gawked at the sight. "What?! It can fucking fly?!" she exclaimed. "What the shit?! That's not fucking fair! This is bullshit!"

"You'd be surprised at what some Hollows can do," Sayuri commented calmly. "But we need to get him down!" she exclaimed suddenly.

"I'd like to see you try and punch me now, you clueless human toad!" Shrieker yelled, tired of getting punched in the face by a mere human being. He was very pissed off. "You'll never even see me coming!"

Rukia yelled at Chad. "Don't just stand there! You should get moving! This is too dangerous for you to be involved in! He's in the air right above you!"

"Us," Hana corrected. "But, yeah, you should get out of here, Chad. It isn't safe but thanks so much for the help." She didn't think he would be much help anymore, now that Shrieker was flying too high for them to reach.

Yuki nodded in agreement. "Yeah, thanks for saving us but w-we can handle this monster!" She was becoming a little brave but overall, she was still very terrified.

"Thanks for the help, Chad," Sayuri told him. "We'll take it from here now."

Chad turned towards the females, his eyes appearing to be wide. "Hey there, Hana. Yuki. New girls. Are you telling me that you can see ghosts?" he asked after greeting them.

"There's no time to explain that now!" Rukia stated in exclamation. "Just get away before he strikes!"

"Where exactly?" Chad asked.

"Huh?" Rukia questioned. "Why?" She was confused by the question and she sweat-dropped again. "Even if I did tell you, what would you do about it?"

"When he charges, you just tell me where he is," Chad said, avoiding the question as he faced them temporarily.

"M'kay," Hana agreed. She could tell that Chad planned to hit Shrieker again but she wasn't exactly sure how he planned on doing so.

"Wha-?! We can't just let him stay here!" Rukia complained, glaring at Hana. Hana looked towards her and just shrugged, making Rukia even angrier.

"He's our best bet right now, Rukia," Sayuri commented. She figured that he might as well stay since he was helping them out somewhat.

"Yeah, we can really use his help some more," Yuki commented. She was, very suddenly, completely brave and not at all terrified. How long that would last was uncertain. How that even occurred was uncertain as well. Perhaps other thoughts were consuming her being instead of the ones about death.

"You were just telling him to leave moments ago!" Rukia complained some more, glaring at all of the females standing in front of her now.

"True but it seems that he has a plan," Sayuri stated as she stared at Rukia. "So, let's see what this plan is. Then, perhaps we'll get him to leave so he won't get hurt."

"We don't have time for thi-what the hell are you doing?" Hana had looked back towards Chad and was now watching him as he appeared to be hugging a pole. "Umm…" She wasn't sure how to react. However, she and the other females, whom started watching too, became amazed as Chad pulled the pole out of the ground. "Holy shit! You're amazing!"

"What the hell?!" Shrieker was as surprised as the females. He remained flying where he was, too close to the ground.

Sayuri pointed to where Shrieker was flying. "He's dead ahead! Swing the pole and strike him down!" Chad swung the wooden pole and knocked Shrieker right out of the sky, breaking the pole in half. "Good shot!" Sayuri cheered. "Ya got him good!"

"Yeah! Teamwork!" Hana cheered. "Way to go!"

"You didn't do anything," Rukia remarked.

"I know that. I was cheering," Hana stated. "...You didn't do shit, too," she pointed out seconds later.

Rukia ignored Hana and approached Shrieker, standing in front of him as he laid on the ground. Hana, Chad, Sayuri, and Yuki followed suit, standing along side one another. "You're through here, Hollow. Another Soul Reaper's heading here right now to finish you off for good."

"Though, Sayuri could easily finish him off now," Hana stated. "But, then again, shouldn't risk damaging a Gigai or something. I don't know." She looked at Yuki. "I think your weird innocence is rubbing off on me."

Yuki smiled cutely at her and giggled. "Sorry?"

"Hey, we're all weird in our own ways," Sayuri clarified. "But Yuki's the cutest about it."

Shrieker slowly began to chuckle as he slowly pushed himself off the ground. "Lazy Soul Reapers. It's no wonder you're always getting beaten and humiliated every time you battle us." Little frog-like creatures suddenly jumped out around them as they came out of nowhere, landing on top of the females and Chad. They all fell to the ground, pinned and they began to struggle to get free. Chad, Rukia, and Yuki were struggling in silence. "You Soul Reapers take us too lightly. That's the reason you keep ending up like this, face down and helpless," Shrieker continued, laughing maniacally afterwards.

"Holy shit! What in the world are these things?!" Sayuri struggled greatly to get free.

"What the fuck?!" Hana was trying very hard to get free as well. They all were trying their best.

Chad let out a shout and broke free from the little frog-like creatures, standing back up again. "What the?!" Shrieker exclaimed. "You're the craziest human I've ever seen! You can't even see me and yet you think you can defeat me with sheer muscle power?!" Chad nearly punched Shrieker in the face again as he swung his fists randomly. "Damn, he almost hit me again!" For someone who couldn't see what was going on, Chad was doing pretty good at helping the females out.

"Chad!" Hana yelled. "Kick the air above us!" she instructed in exclamation. Chad did exactly that, freeing each of the females one by one which allowed them to stand back up again. "Thanks again, man!" Hana told him with appreciation. She spotted Shrieker flying into the air again, only higher this time. She turned to Chad to see him punching the air once again. "Yo, Chad. You're not gonna be hitting him again from down here."

Yuki nodded in agreement. "He went into the sky again. Much higher this time." She was still rather calm for someone who was freaking the fuck out earlier. What the hell had happened to make her become calm so suddenly? New emotions? New mindset? Fear of something else?

"Oh," Chad responded and he stopped his punching. He turned towards the females, the females having their back to him as they looked towards the sky at Shrieker.

Rukia stared up at the sky at Shrieker for a little longer before looking at Chad. "I have a plan." In mere moments, she was in Chad's hands to be thrown at Shrieker. She was in a crouching position, sitting on Chad's right hand and leaning against his right arm while he held onto her foot with his left hand along with his right hand that she was sitting on. Hana, Sayuri, and Yuki stared at them.

"Hey, new girl," Chad said to Rukia, some sweat dropping from his forehead. "If you ask me, there are some problems with this plan," he remarked.

"Yeah," Hana agreed. "Is this really the only plan we have? You could just use that...glove thing of yours to help Sayuri, Yuki, and I exit our, uh, bodies so we can be in our soul forms, so that we can kick this Hollow's ass." She was doubting that Rukia's plan would work out.

"But we can't risk causing harm to our bodies, Hana," Yuki told her. "The Hollow could end up destroying them, thereby killing us and making us, well, dead and Sayu's Gigai could get destroyed, meaning she'd have to get another one and it might not be as good or something." She was only slightly agreeing with the plan. She wasn't exactly completely agreeing with it.

"Good point," Hana stated. "Uh, I think. Not often when you speak something that isn't all adorable and innocent. Well, uh, don't die, Rukia. Much luck." She moved to lean against the nearest wall.

"Are you sure about this, Rukia?" Sayuri asked. "Because there is no going back after this is done.

"Positive," Rukia answered. "With my vision and his strength, we should be able to pull this off and bring that Hollow down."

"You must be really smart," Chad commented. "'Cause this seems really stupid to me."

"Just listen to my instructs and then throw me!" Rukia exclaimed. After directing Chad with aiming her towards where Shrieker was, Chad threw Rukia into the air at the flying Hollow. As soon as Rukia got near him, however, one of Shrieker's little frog-like creatures appeared on his shoulder and it spit leeches at Rukia. She screamed as she started heading back down to the ground, her attack a failure. Chad ran to catch her and succeeded in doing so, but Rukia was covered in multiple purple-colored leeches. "Damn it!" Hana, Sayuri, and Yuki ran over to them as Chad sat Rukia to her feet.

"Are you alright?!" Yuki exclaimed. Her eyes started watering. "Oh, we should've thought of a better plan." She sniffled as Chad laid a gentle pat on her head.

"Rukia!" Sayuri yelled. "What the hell did he do?!" She stared at Rukia, eyeing the leeches that she was covered in.

Hana made a look of disgust as she stared at the leeches on Rukia. "Yuck. Are those leeches?"

"I believe so," Sayuri commented rather angrily. Shrieker chuckled darkly and stuck out his tongue as he landed on the ground in front of them, some kind of echo transmitting from his tongue. Suddenly, the leeches on Rukia exploded as Sayuri moved to help her get them off. Rukia fell to the ground and Sayuri gripped her left hand, it having been caught in the crossfire of the explosions. "Holy shit!" Sayuri exclaimed.

"Exploding leeches?! Why couldn't they just had been normal leeches?!" Hana complained. "This isn't good at all!" Their fight against Shrieker was getting more and more difficult by the second. "What's next?! He reveals he has the ability to shoot lightning from his mouth?!"

Yuki hid behind Sayuri. "I'm scared!" All of the courage that she had been feeling was long gone. As soon as the new ability showed up and gave her friend some doubts, Yuki had become scared again. She doubted that they would win now. She had believed that they could do it, up until that new ability came.

"Yuki, be brave like you were before just a second ago," Hana said as calmly as she could while she looked towards Sayuri and Yuki. Yelling wouldn't be very helpful, seeing as it would probably just end up making her cry more since she was scared again.

"Yuki." Sayuri turned towards her sister, placing her hands on her shoulders. "Hiding is not going to solve anything. You have to be brave to fight. I'll be there to help. Don't give up just because things get more difficult."

Yuki stared at her sister, obviously quite terrified again. "B-But I-I don't know if I can be brave again…"

"You can. You just have to find it in yourself, Yuki. And we can do it. Together," Sayuri said to try and encourage Yuki.

"I…" Yuki looked towards Shrieker and gasped when she saw a familiar bird cage sitting behind him. "Yuichi!?" Sayuri quickly turned after from her sister and looked towards Shrieker as well, spotting Yuichi's cage and her eyes widened slightly.

Chad's eyes widened as he, too, spotted Yuichi's cage behind Shrieker. "Huh?"

"I'm so sorry, Mister," Yuichi apologized to Chad. "I tried calling to you." He had his head down, ashamed that he had gotten them in this situation.

"That's okay," Chad told Yuichi, forgiving him immediately.

Hana looked at Yuichi before looking at Shrieker. " _How in the hell could he have gotten time to grab Yuichi while he dealt with us? He had been with Chad and then, Chad came here as we were dealing with this Hollow… So how the fuck is Yuichi here?! When the hell did this bastard leave?!"_

Sayuri noticed that there were three of those leech spitting frog-like creatures on the cage. She glared at Shrieker. "You bastard!" He was using Yuichi as a hostage. He was making this even more unfair for them.

"If you want him to continue on living, all of you better do as I wish," Shrieker told them before chuckling maniacally. He figured that he was finally going to get to eat them.

"Motherfucker!" Hana yelled. She was pissed off. " _We should've risked damaging our bodies to get rid of this bastard! Now, we can't do shit because of that fuckin' tongue of his that'll get Yuichi gravely harmed, maybe even killed! Goddamn it!"_

Rukia sighed heavily. "This is just great," she muttered to herself. Sayuri glared at Shrieker, not saying a word.

Yuki frowned as she trembled, her eyes on Yuichi. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. " _You can do this, Yuki. You can conquer your fear. You can be brave again. You need to be brave again. For Yuichi."_ She reopened her eyes, looked at Yuichi again, and the fear that had been controlling her faded into nothingness once again, only this time she had focused on saving Yuichi. Even if it cost her life, she wasn't going to let her fear of Hollows takeover once again so she could make sure that Yuichi was safe. "What do you want us to do?" she asked Shrieker without stuttering, determined.

"Muscleman stays put while I play tag with the four of you," Shrieker replied. "It's a little game that I figured would be entertaining." One that he believed he wouldn't lose at.

"Hmph." Hana looked at Chad. "We unfortunately have to listen to him. Please stay right here, Chad."

"But what about the four of you?" Chad questioned.

"Don't be concerned. We can take care of ourselves," Rukia commented.

"We'll be fine," Yuki stated. "Just stay here with Yuichi." She smiled sweetly but sadly. "We'll be back, for sure. This won't take too long, I promise."

"Let's go, then…" Sayuri sighed. Hana, Rukia, Sayuri, and Yuki took off running, Sayuri and Yuki running hand in hand. They ran for quite a bit but it did not take long for Shrieker's frog-like leech spitting creatures to catch up to them. The creatures prepared to spit out the leeches but all of the females dodged in multiple ways: Rukia and Sayuri jumped into the air (making Sayuri let go of Yuki's hand unintentionally) while Hana pushed Yuki forward as she jumped forward as well, causing them both to barely dodge the leeches. Rukia and Sayuri landed on the concrete wall to the right of Hana and Yuki, but one of the creatures appeared out of a bush from behind them (Rukia and Sayuri), spitting leeches that landed on both of their right arm and leg.

Shrieker appeared behind them as Rukia and Sayuri jumped back to the concrete ground, crouching behind Hana and Yuki. "This might sting a little," he remarked. His tongue was already sticking out and he soon let out the frequency that caused the leeches to explode, injuring both Rukia and Sayuri. The two of them let out a pain-filled grunt as some of their blood dripped to the ground shortly after the explosions but they both remained standing.

"Sayu!" Yuki exclaimed.

"I'm fine!" Sayuri exclaimed. "Just keep moving!" She and Rukia both started running again despite the pain they both felt. Hana and Yuki both quickly followed their example, running yet again themselves.

"Faster, faster, faster!" Shrieker yelled out. He laughed diabolically as he chased them. He sent many of his little creatures flying at them, shooting them from his hand. The females ran until they were heading straight towards a fence, the option of going left or right laying there before them as they could take either path. However, leeches landed upon Hana's legs and Yuki's arms as they approached the fence. "Oops," Shrieker said as he set off the leeches, making them explode.

Hana dropped to her knees in the middle of the two way path, right in front of the fence. "That...was very unpleasant!" she grunted loudly, her hands moving to lay on either leg.

Yuki held her arms, tears in her eyes. "It hurts…!" She stopped running, standing beside Hana. Rukia and Sayuri stopped running as well, standing near Hana and Yuki.

"It's okay, Yuki. I-It'll be fine…" Sayuri said, unsure of what she was trying to tell her sister.

"But it really hurts…!" Yuki tried to hold back her tears but was soon crying again, this time from the pain.

"Damn it…" Rukia was hunched over, holding onto her wounded arm. "This isn't going anywhere…"

"Yeah, it truly is not going as planned," Sayuri commented as she held her own wounded arm. She turned to face Shrieker.

Shrieker was just standing there, watching them. "I didn't think that you would all just give up so easily. This game didn't last as long as I hoped."

Hana turned her body to face Shrieker, wincing as she did so. She was unable to stand because her legs had been gravely injured. "Fuck you!" she yelled once she was completely turned towards him. "I can't wait until you're sent to Hell because like hell do you belong in the Soul Society!" She looked towards Rukia and Sayuri. "We need to think of better plans in the future to avoid something like this happening again!" She was clearly very, very pissed off by this point.

"You try thinking of something in the spur of the moment with a Hollow chasing after you," Rukia commented angrily. She turned to face Shrieker like Hana and Sayuri did. Yuki slowly turned towards him as well.

Hana glared at the back of Rukia's head. "He wasn't even chasing us when we had time to come up with a better plan. He was basically monologuing like a villain from a TV show or a book. We wasted precious time and ended up going with your stupid plan to be thrown at him which ended terribly."

"You're right about that," Sayuri agreed.

"This is just too boring," Shrieker commented. "I was hoping for much more than this. Why don't you attack me or run away some more? I don't want to kill you just yet. I want to have some more fun."

Rukia stared at Shrieker. "You want us to attack? Fine, then attack you we shall." Shrieker looked towards Rukia and prepared for her to attack but got an unexpected foot to the back of his head which made him be in a crawling-like position on the ground. Ichigo stood beside him, his foot still connected to Shrieker's head. "Perfect timing, Ichigo," Rukia continued. "Good to see that you've finally made it."

"Yeah, whatever," Ichigo commented.

"You must care about us a lot to make you come back so quickly," Rukia stated.

"That's one way of putting it," Ichigo told her. He smiled a bit.

"Yay!" Yuki cheered. "Ichi's here!" Her tears had dried up as quickly as they had appeared.

"Hell yeah!" Sayuri did a small jump of excitement despite her injured leg. "The strawberry is here to save the day!"

"Shut up!" Ichigo yelled at her.

"Welcome to the party, Ichigo," Hana greeted. She was calm, no longer pissed off since Ichigo was finally there to help them out. She was really happy to see him.

"Yeah," Ichigo said. He looked at her, seeing her on the ground. "You alright?"

Sayuri looked at Hana with a little bit of worry. "Yeah, are you alright? You haven't gotten up yet."

"Uh…" Hana rubbed the back of her head. She hesitated to answer. "...That's because I can't…"

"Hana?" Ichigo looked at her with an eyebrow raised. If he knew why she wasn't getting up, he'd probably be freaking out.

Hana waved her hands around. "It's nothing! Don't panic! I can heal my legs! Just...not when he's around!" She pointed towards Shrieker. Ichigo was still standing somewhat on him and he hadn't moved or said anything.

"As touching and loving this moment you are having is, could you get off of my head?" Shrieker suddenly asked. He could've just knocked Ichigo off of him but instead had asked him to do so himself without any force. Ichigo jumped over Shrieker and Shrieker stood up, rubbing his head. "Who are you anyways?" he asked.

"Ichigo Kurosaki, age fifteen, substitute Soul Reaper," Ichigo greeted, back turned to Shrieker. "And if you really want to play some serious tag." He turned his head to face Shrieker, smirking. "I think it's me you ought to chase."

"Substitute Soul Reaper, eh?" Shrieker questioned. "Crap. I screwed up. When all of you split up back there, I should have gone after you." As he spoke, Rukia was putting on her red glove. Multiple of Shrieker's creatures spit out their leeches and Shrieker made them explode with his tongue once again. Rukia pushed Ichigo's soul out of his body as the commotion was occurring and there was quite some smoke in the air as a result of the explosions. "Where'd you go?" He looked up as Ichigo, in his soul form wearing his Soul Reaper attire, came down at him with his Zanpakutō and Ichigo swung it down. Shrieker dodged it, somewhat getting injured, and he laughed. "You're too slow but I can tell your soul is going to be tasty." He turned towards Ichigo as the smoke cleared, revealing that Rukia was behind him holding his body while Sayuri and Yuki were behind her, holding up Hana; they all had avoided the explosion. "Say hello to my little friends."

Ichigo stared at him. "Now I've got it. You used these leech bombs to tie up Chad, then attacked defenseless girls."

"We aren't that defenseless, you know," Hana commented lowly.

"Now's not the time for you to comment," Sayuri told her. "You can barely move and you can't even walk."

Hana blushed and pouted. "Hmph. If you'd put me down at a safe area, I'd be able to heal myself." She watched as Ichigo began to fight Shrieker, Ichigo moving him away from their location. "Okay, nevermind. Just put me down now so I can fuckin' heal." Sayuri and Yuki obliged. Hana winced lightly but ignored the pain as she placed both of her hands on her legs, one on each, and focused as her hands began to glow red. Rukia laid down Ichigo's body but placed him face-first instead of on his back.

"Ichigo?" Chad questioned, walking up to where the females were. In his arms was Yuichi's cage, Yuichi safe inside it. "Ichigo, what's wrong?" He was worried about his friend, not knowing that he was completely fine and outside of his body.

Sayuri looked at him. "You shouldn't be here. Also, he's fine."

Yuki smiled at him. "Chad, hey. We're okay, see?" She watched as Chad glanced at her arms. Her smile faltered slightly. "Well, we're mostly okay. Not much harm was done, though. I promise! So, no worrying!"

Rukia was leaning against a pole. She turned towards Chad. "You should get out of here with that cockatiel. Take it somewhere safe."

"What's going on? What's with Ichigo?" Chad questioned. "Was he hurt too?"

"Ichigo is fine. He's fighting to protect us all," Rukia stated.

"Done!" Hana stood up and smiled. "I am all fixed up again!" She noticed Chad standing behind her as she twirled, making sure her legs were really completely healed. "Oh, hi there, Chad." She looked back at Rukia. "Rukia, I need you to do something for me."

"Hmm? What is it?" Rukia asked, staring at her.

"I don't like thinking about how Ichigo has to fight that bastard by himself," Hana started. "Sayuri and Yuki could be helping him right now, but I think they should focus on the injuries they have before they do anything rational."

"What are you saying?" Rukia questioned.

"What I am saying is... I want you to use that glove of yours to knock my soul out of my body. That way, I can go help Ichigo for the time being," Hana answered. She could no longer stand that he was working alone.

"Ichigo is strong," Sayuri commented. "This Hollow shouldn't be too much of a problem for him."

"I don't care." Hana looked at her. "I do not want him to just do this alone. He does that enough already with some of your help. Now, with the addition to my help, he will be getting even more help than usual and he deserves it for all his hard work. Yuki and you should help out, too, once her wounds are healed by you. That way, the Hollow will be gone in no time." She looked back at Rukia. "Do it. Now." She needed to help Ichigo. She knew he didn't need it but she wanted and needed to help him.

"Alright." Rukia, still having the red glove on, went at Hana and placed her hand against her head. Her hand phased through it but was connected to the head of Hana's soul instead, very similar in the way Rukia had done to Ichigo the first time ever. Hana's body fell forward and was caught in the arms of Sayuri, her body soon laid down beside Ichigo's body. Rukia stared, with wide eyes, at Hana in her soul form. Hana was wearing the attire of a Soul Reaper and the outfit suit her well, fitting her perfectly like she was meant to be one.

"Thank you!" Hana used flash step, or Shunpo, to quickly get to where Ichigo was located in a matter of seconds. She pulled her Zanpakutō out of its sheath, revealing its odd red blade but normal black collar and handle. She quickly slashed one of the little creatures in half as she saw it sneaking up on Ichigo. "I don't think so, you little bastard!"

"Huh? Hana?" Ichigo was surprised to hear her voice. He started to turn around and was about to question her as to why she was there when he caught a glimpse of her Soul Reaper attire before he had fully faced her. His eyes widened greatly. "You-! You're a-!" He couldn't get all of his words out, thanks to his surprise.

"First off, I'm half Soul Reaper like Yuki. Secondly, I've been so my whole life and I kept it a secret. I just..." Hana bit her lip for a moment before continuing. "I thought this would be a good time to reveal this since I didn't want you fighting him alone."

"Why didn't you tell me?!" Ichigo exclaimed, speaking angrily. "Why did you keep something like this a secret?! I could've used some of your help all those other times!"

"I was scared that you'd freak out!" Hana yelled. "Which, you kind of are, but it is more of an anger freak out than a freak out, freak out!" She looked around, stopping her yelling. "Where's the Hollow?" she asked Ichigo, not seeing him in sight.

"Nearby. I have everything under control," Ichigo stated, speaking calmly now.

"I already told you that I didn't want you to face him alone!" Hana exclaimed as she looked back at him. "Sorry for being worried about your safety, Ichigo!" Shrieker came at them from behind her, ready to send more little creatures out of his hand. He seemed to be happy to discover that Hana was there and that she was in a Soul Reaper attire; another good meal for him. Hana suddenly turned around and went at him, kicking him in the masked face which sent him flying backwards. "Bastard, we are talking!" she yelled at Shrieker.

"You were worried?" Ichigo questioned her. He spoke a bit softly, a small smile appearing on his face. He was happy to hear that she cared about his well-being as much as he cared about hers.

"Well, yeah." Hana landed back on the ground beside him. She stared at him. "I didn't want you to get hurt."

"There was no need to worry. I wouldn't have gotten hurt," Ichigo stated, still smiling a little.

Hana placed her hands on her hips. "How would you know? You're new to all of this still."

"Your point is?" Ichigo asked her.

"My point is that since you are so new to this, you'll just attack recklessly," Hana stated. More of the little creatures headed for them, leaping at them as they opened their mouths. She immediately cut them in half with her Zanpakutō.

Ichigo gawked at the sight of the red blade of Hana's Zanpakutō. "What the hell?! It's red!"

"Hmm?" Hana looked at him, then her Zanpakutō blade, and then back at him. "Yeah. It is."

"Why are you being so casual about it?!" Ichigo exclaimed. "How is it red?! Blades aren't suppose to be any other color but silver!"

Hana shrugged. "Beats me. It's always been like this. I have no clue as to why it is this color but I figured part of the reason is because of my personality. It's just a thought, though. It's mostly likely not true. But it's better than nothing."

"That's..." Ichigo didn't know what to say. This was really strange.

"Let's just fight this guy before we get too distracted with our conversation," Hana told him. Ichigo didn't say anything and nodded. They both turned their attention to Shrieker whom had just been staring at them, watching them closely.

"That was quite the interesting conversation the two of you had," Shrieker stated. "I was hoping to find out why the blade is red as well, but not even you know why. How disappointing. Still, it's very intriguing. Perhaps you are more powerful than a normal Soul Reaper. In that case, I should devour you first." Ichigo clenched onto the handle of his Zanpakutō tightly.

"I'd like to see you try," Hana stated. "I'm no longer in my body so I am not as defenseless as I was before."

"Don't forget that my monsters contain leeches, leeches that are still live ammunition," Shrieker told her. He stuck his tongue out and released the frequency to explode the leeches once again just as he had done multiple times before. Hana and Ichigo both dodged the explosions, both of them soon on either side of Shrieker with their Zanpakutō blades pointed at his mask.

"Hi there." Hana smirked at the surprised Shrieker.

"Before the two of us slice and dice you, you killed the mother of the boy in that cockatiel didn't you?" Ichigo asked, glaring at Shrieker.

Hana glanced at Ichigo. " _What...?"_ Hana moved her gaze back to Shrieker, glaring darkly at him and pressing her Zanpakutō blade against his mask. "Did you really do such a thing?! Why is it that you are chasing the boy now?!"

"It's all a little game that I made. I told him that if he did what I said, I'd bring his mother back to life," Shrieker answered.

"What?" Ichigo asked, confused.

"Explain yourself!" Hana yelled.

Shrieker did as he was asked. "I killed the brat's mother back when I was still alive. You might have heard of me. I was all over the TV, the radio, everywhere. I was a famous serial killer. They never would have caught me either; I was too smart. The kid's mother was my last score. She was a sweet one and I stabbed her eight times. She was bleeding all over and still, she tried to protect the kid. I chased her onto the balcony and finished her off, but then that stupid kid grabbed my shoelaces. He made me fall over the railing, twenty stories down. Suddenly, I was dead, I was pissed, and I wanted payback. The punk kid was still alive so I ripped his soul out and put it in the stupid cockatiel. I made him a deal. If he could run away in that body for three months, I'd bring his mommy back to life."

"How could you do that?" Ichigo asked.

"I couldn't do that, you moron. I lied. It worked," Shrieker stated.

"Bastard!" Hana yelled.

"Enough about me. It's time to kill the two of you!" Shrieker flew into the sky after pushing back the blades that were held to his mask. He threw his little creatures at them. Hana slashed the one coming at her in half while Ichigo gripped the one coming at him in his hand, crashing it and making the leeches come out. He ran at Shrieker, letting out a yell and he proceeded to punch a hole in Shrieker's teeth. "Have your stupid bomb back. Go ahead and detonate the damn things." Shrieker choked and stared at Ichigo in shock. "Not going to? Then, I'll do this," Ichigo said before he yanked out the part of Shrieker's tongue that was used to explode the leeches.

"Oh, my tongue!" Shrieker complained. Ichigo was going to deliver the final blow but stopped when he spotted Sayuri and Yuki appearing in the air over Shrieker, both of them in Soul Reaper attire. Yuki looked completely fearless, just like Sayuri.

"Go to Hell!" Sayuri yelled as Yuki yelled "Heyah!" The sisters brought out their separate Zanpakutō, the blade of Yuki's Zanpakutō was light blue while the blade of Sayuri's Zanpakutō was creamy white. They both went down towards Shrieker. Together, they slashed two lines into his mask, defeating him.

"The blades..." Ichigo muttered.

"Yuki doesn't know why either and I am sure Sayuri doesn't as well," Hana commented. "So, don't bother asking them about it." She was a bit surprised, however, about Sayuri having an odd colored blade like she and Yuki did. She wondered if there were any other Soul Reapers whose Zanpakutō blade was of an odd color.

A bright light emerged from the cracks of Shrieker's mask as he screamed in pain, a large gate with a skeleton on each door appearing behind him. "What the hell?" Ichigo stared, surprised by the humongous gate that appeared out of nowhere.

"Don't worry. Those are the gates of the underworld. They are opening only for him," Sayuri commented. She landed in front of Hana and Ichigo, Yuki landing beside her.

Rukia stood behind Hana and Ichigo, almost like she had appeared out of nowhere. "A Zanpakutō can wash away the sins a soul has committed as a Hollow. Those who commit terrible crimes while alive are sent to the underworld," she explained further.

"I've heard about this," Hana stated. "I just never saw it in person."

"Many haven't," Sayuri commented.

Shrieker was soon inside of the gate, yelling and screaming. A large blade went through him as his mask broke apart. The gate soon closed and shattered, disappearing. Hana smiled. "That bastard deserved it."

"So... That's basically Hell?" Ichigo stared bewildered at the spot where the gate once stood.

"Yes," Rukia answered. "Basically."

Yuki turned around, walking over to Hana and she jumped on her. "I faced my fear! I'm not scared of Hollows anymore!"

Hana laughed and hugged her innocent minded best-friend. "Good for you, Yuki."

* * *

The five of them returned to where Chad and Yuichi were located. Rukia placed her hand upon the cage. A sad expression soon appeared on her face. "I'm afraid there's nothing I can do," Rukia confessed. "The chain of fate has been severed. Without it, there is no way to return him to his body."

Hana frowned. "Damn it..." Yuki frowned as well, visibly upset.

"No…" Yuichi commented sadly.

"Don't be sad. The Soul Society is a wonderful place that is very peaceful. You'll be happy there. You'll never be hungry and you'll never grow old. In fact, it's a much better place to live than this world," Rukia stated to comfort Yuichi.

"So now you are suddenly an expert on life in this world," Ichigo remarked, leaning over her shoulder.

"What?" Rukia stared at Ichigo in confusion. Sayuri just smiled and shrugged.

"Anyway, you're missing the point here. You'll finally be reunited with your mom," Ichigo told Yuichi. Yuichi's sad expression vanished and he was happy once again. "Maybe we can't bring her back but she is on the other side waiting for you. This time, it's really true," Ichigo clarified. Hana grinned a little.

Yuichi looked at Chad. "Mister Sado, thank you for everything you did for me. You carried me, you kept me safe, and you were even brave enough to protect me from that monster." He was grateful.

"Hey, don't even mention it," Chad stated.

"Awwwww!" Yuki laid her head against Sayuri's arm. "That's so cute!" Her sadness was long gone.

"I guess it's time for me to go now," Yuichi said. His spirit appeared behind the cage. He was such a cute little boy. He had unruly medium length brown hair and brown eyes. He was wearing red shorts and a green jumper, clothing he had been wearing when he died.

"Yuichi. Someday, when I die and pass over too, would it be okay with you if I sometimes carried you around again?" Chad asked.

Yuichi smiled. "Mhm." Everyone around them smiled at the precious moment.

"If you're ready, let's begin the Konso," Ichigo said. Ichigo touched Yuichi's forehead with his Zanpakutō hilt. Yuichi continued to smile as he disappeared, a black butterfly taking his place and flying away.

"I'm so happy for him," Hana said, tears nearly forming in her eyes. "He can see him mother again." She continued to smile a bit. " _I hope."_ Ichigo pulled Hana into a hug unexpectedly, surprising her. "H-Huh?"

"Just being friendly," Ichigo commented.

Hana blushed and pushed him away from her. "You can't just hug a girl so suddenly like that!" She pouted angrily. "Warn a bitch next time!"

Ichigo chuckled a bit. "Sorry."

"We probably should get back into our bodies," Hana suggested.

"Yeah," Ichigo agreed.

"Don't randomly hug me without warning again or I'll kick your ass," Hana threatened falsely. She actually kind of liked it.

Ichigo glared playfully at her. "I'll hug you without warning whenever I want to. You aren't the boss of me, Hana."

Rukia, Sayuri, and Yuki stood back as Hana and Ichigo headed to their bodies, 'bickering' back and forth. Chad had simply wandered off from the area after Yuichi was sent on his way to the Soul Society, his memory not having been erased. "Do you suppose that those two have any feelings for each other?" Rukia asked Sayuri and Yuki.

"They do," Yuki answered. She was way ahead of Rukia on that assumption.

"They just don't see it right now," Sayuri commented as she narrowed her eyes to examine the 'bickering' best-friends as the two walked away from the three of them.

"I know they are best friends but even best friends can fall in love with one another and not realize it until many years have passed," Rukia stated.

Sayuri looked over at Rukia with a playful look. "Oh? Like you and Renji?"

"No, we don't like each other in that way," Rukia answered quickly. Though, she did blush slightly. She went back to the Hana and Ichigo topic. "I wonder when these two will finally realize that the love of their life is just right in front of them."

"Could take a while. You never know," Sayuri commented. Yuki nodded in agreement.

"Without a doubt. Ichigo seems to be a little on the slow side. It might take a few months or even years like I said before," Rukia commented, only for Sayuri to laugh and agree with her.

Yuki stared at Rukia and Sayuri. "...So, who's Renji?"

* * *

 ** _Word Count: 10,070_**


	7. Chapter 6: Mod Soul Alert

**_Edited, via Quotev, on 4/7/2017; Errors Fixed and Sentences/Descriptions Added_**

 _ **Warnings: Errors in Grammar, Spelling, Etc. Out-Of-Character Moments. This Fanfiction Series Contains Original Characters. This Fanfiction Series Follows The English Dub Anime (Like All of My Fanfictions Do). This Fanifiction Series Contains Original Ideas, Some Meant to be Explained in the Far Future. Don't Like That, Don't Complain About It and Just Simply Don't Read It. :) It's As Simple As That. Please, Do Enjoy! You Have Been Warned. Oh and Some Scenes Have Been Left Out Along with Some Dialogue, and Some Dialogue From the Anime Has Been Reworded Along with Some Scenes Have Been Changed by the Slightest.**_

* * *

A new day had arrived, a lot of days having gone by since Yuichi was helped. Hana snoozed on the floor of Ichigo's bedroom, sleeping soundlessly. Ichigo entered the bedroom with a plate that held a few rice balls and he walked over to his closet door, stepping over Hana's sleeping form carefully. He knocked on the closet door softly. "Hey, wake up. I got you two some breakfast," he said to the door. He expected Rukia and Sayuri to open up the door before getting out like they had been doing the past few days he brought them food, but nothing happened. "Do you two want the food or not?" He opened the door himself and blinked; the closet was empty. "Hmm? Where'd they go? That's just great..." He turned from his opened closet, picked up one of the rice balls and he bit into it angrily.

As Ichigo chewed the rice ball in his mouth, he looked down at Hana. He swallowed the food and smiled slightly at her as she slept. He wasn't sure why he was doing so but he didn't dislike it. Hana stirred a bit and her eyes fluttered open. She yawned as she sat up. She blinked a few times and looked at Ichigo, seeing him smiling at her still. "Whatcha smiling about?" She stretched her arms out above her head.

"Nothing important," he answered. "Good morning." He handed her one of the remaining rice balls.

Hana took it out of his hand. "Same to you. Also, thanks." She took a bite out of the rice ball as Ichigo finished his own. After they finished eating, Hana entered the closet to change into some of the clothes she had there in Ichigo's room (she spent more time at his home than at Urahara's shop) while Ichigo got dressed too; they had gotten dressed in their school uniforms. Once the two were ready, they headed to the dining room. Karin and Yuzu were sitting at the table, their father standing nearby; they did not notice Hana and Ichigo entering the room.

"Ichigo has been acting a little weird lately. He's been eating like a horse and he's been in his room a lot more," Yuzu commented.

"The boy is fifteen now. An impressionable lad, young in the springtime of his youth, would barricade himself in his room for one reason and one reason only," Isshin started. He did not get a chance to continue his statement.

Ichigo went over to his father, whom had no clue he was approaching, and kicked him right in the cheek. "Knock it off! Quit analyzing me, you pervert!"

"What's the matter, son? It's because I'm your father, isn't it? What's wrong with a little paternal understanding?" Isshin questioned him loudly as he got up from the floor.

"Understanding, my ass!" Ichigo yelled. He and his father began to have their normal father-son fighting moment, one of many and many more to come.

As the two of them fought, Hana went over to Karin and Yuzu to have a quick chat with them before Isshin noticed she was there. "Hey, you two. Are you doing well?" she asked after greeting the two sisters.

"Yeah," Karin answered before she proceeded with eating her breakfast.

"I didn't know you stayed over! Why didn't Ichigo tell me?! I could've make you a special breakfast!" Yuzu pouted.

Hana smiled and gave her a short, little hug. "I snuck in. Didn't feel like dealing with your father's...crap last night and I don't want to deal with it now, but I shall return later so you won't have to deal with his behavior alone. See you both then." She headed out of the Kurosaki household, sneaking by the still fighting Ichigo and Isshin.

"Guys, your breakfast is going to get cold," Yuzu stated to Ichigo and Isshin.

"Quiet morning, huh?" Karin grinned as she ate some rice.

Ichigo knocked his father against the wall, Isshin groaning as he slid down the very wall he was knocked against. Ichigo looked around for Hana and grew a tad confused. He went over to his younger sisters. "Where did Hana go?"

"She didn't want to deal with Dad's behavior," Yuzu told him. Ichigo nodded in understanding; it made sense...

* * *

Outside of Urahara's shop, a small boy and a small girl stood across each other near the entrance with brooms in their hands. The small, messy red-head and black-eyed boy wore a white t-shirt with the logo of the shop printed on its front and blue three-quarter length trousers, the bottoms of them turned up; he went by the name Jinta Hanakari. The small girl with long, black hair that had a purple hint which was parted down the middle, two strands of her bangs in the middle of her face that opposed each other while the rest of her hair was in pigtails held by pink ties, and with pretty, round purple eyes had perpetual blush on her cheeks, wearing a white-shirt like Jinta's (but the logo was in pink) and a knee-length, pink skirt with white dots; she went by the name Ururu Tsumugiya.

"Now up to bat, Jinta Hanakari." Instead of sweeping like Ururu, Jinta held the broom like it was a bat, preparing to swing it. "Here comes the wind up and the pitch." He tosses a baseball into the air and stared at it. "With a perfect swing, he lets it fly!" He swung the broom, spinning as he did, but missed the baseball that just ended up hitting the ground, bouncing a few times before rolling slightly and stopping. "Home run!"

Ururu stopped sweeping and stared at him, speaking quite softly. "Please, Jinta. You have to get back to work or we're going to be in trouble with Tessai again."

Jinta turned towards her and pointed the broom at her. "Shut up, Ururu! I'll start when I'm ready! Tessai doesn't scare me."

"But you were scared enough to sweep in the first place," Ururu pointed out.

"I don't get scared! Who do you think you are?" Jinta started swatting at Ururu with his broom, bullying her. "You're not the boss of me!" He pressed the broom against her head. "I'm in charge, I'm bigger than you!"

"We're the same size," Ururu stated, holding her head as tears formed at the corner of her eyes. "Besides, Jinta, I'm three years older than you are."

"So, who cares about age? I'm a higher rank than you," Jinta told her. He moved the broom slightly upwards and it was snatched out of his hand. He and Ururu looked to see Rukia standing there with Sayuri. "Who are you?" Shortly after he said it, he seemed to recognize them.

"You just never change, do you, little one?" Rukia questioned.

"Did you honestly expect him to?" Sayuri questioned her.

"Not really," Rukia answered.

"Well, alright then." Sayuri became quiet, that conversation ending quickly.

Yuki popped her head out from behind Sayuri, stepping to stand beside her sister as she revealed herself. "Hi, Ururu! Hi, Jinta! Long time no see!" She stared at Jinta. "I would've thought that you'd be behaving better the next time I came here." She pouted. "I hope you are more mature in the future."

"Hmph." Jinta crossed his arms and avoided eye contact with her.

"So, is your manager in yet?" Rukia asked.

"Come on in," Jinta stated grumpily. He proceeded with opening the shop entrance.

Inside the shop, a tall and muscular, lightly tan-skinned man walked across the room with four boxes in his hands, largest at the bottom and smallest at the top, and he paused his walking as he noticed what Jinta was doing. He looked in the direction of the shop's entrance. His hair was coal black and cornrowed, he had a large handlebar mustache that was connected to his long sideburns, he was wearing a pair of rectangular-shaped glasses, and his attire consisted of a white muscle shirt with regular pants and a blue apron. "What are you doing, Jinta? It's too early to open up the shop."

Yuki entered the shop first, pushing by Rukia and Sayuri lightly as she did so. She smiled widely. "Hi Tessai!"

Tessai nodded slightly at Yuki. "Welcome back, Ms. Araya." He noticed Rukia as she walked inside second later. "Ms. Kuchiki." He watched as Sayuri followed suit. "Ms. Hirai. Welcome." He placed down the boxes that were in his hand, approached the two, and held up a hand towards them, signalling for them to stop while Yuki freely walked around, looking at everything. "Just give me a minute. I'll go and see if the boss is up and moving yet."

Behind Tessai, a tall, lean-built man with light skin appeared, having just walked into that very room. His hair was quite messy and light-blond, almost pale, with strands framing the sides of his face and hanging between his gray eyes. He had a chin stubble and his attire consisted of a dark coat, which sported a white diamond pattern along its bottom half, with a dark green shirt and pants underneath along with traditional Japanese wooden sandals and a striped dark green and white bucket hat. He was the very man who took in Hanako and Yuki: Kisuke Urahara. "Heh, don't bother," he yawned out. "I'm already awake, for once." He let out a large yawn afterwards and then headed towards the front of the shop. "Good morning, Tessai, Jinta, Ururu."

Yuki giggled a little as she watched him. " _Ura, you sleepyhead_." She went back to looking at the stuff in the shop. She had seen it all before but that didn't matter; she loved looking around at the things in the shop. The objects always intrigued her.

Urahara rubbed his hand over his eyes. "Welcome back to my shop, Ms. Hirai and Ms. Kuchiki. Your timing couldn't be more perfect." He placed his hand atop his hat. "I just got a new shipment in the other day. How can I help you this afternoon?"

Yuki skipped over to where Rukia and Sayuri stood before they had said anything, done with looking at all of the stuff inside the shop. "Hi, Ura."

Urahara smiled at her and placed his hand atop her head. "Good morning, Yuki. Nice of you to drop by, too." Yuki grinned, happy to see her adoptive father again after not visiting for several days. However, this time it was going to be a much shorter visit due to school. Several minutes after the three of them had entered, Urahara was sitting criss-crossed on the floor, holding a device in his hand. Rukia stood near him, not completely facing him and with her arms crossed, while Sayuri and Yuki played tag outside of the shop as they waited for Rukia to buy what was needed before they headed to the school. "One kekon-shiki. Oh, uh, what grade?" Urahara asked Rukia.

"I'll take the cheapest you've got," Rukia stated. She needed another fuel rod for her spirit communicator and something for her to keep her soul align with the Gigai she was using, something that only she needed.

"You got it." He messed with the device in his hand. "So that makes sixty tablets of Soma Fixer and, uh look, I know this is none of my business, but if you use too much of this stuff, it can be toxic." Rukia glanced at him as he continued speaking. "If you over synchronize with your Gigai, you're in for a world of hurt when you finally jump ship."

"Yes, I'm aware of that. Believe me," Rukia stated, almost a little too quickly as if she were a bit impatient at the moment. She began speaking at a normal pace and tone a second later as she looked at the floor with a sad expression upon her face. "It's just that lately, my connection with it has grown pretty weak." She uncrossed her arms and held up a fist, a calmer expression replacing the sad one as she grunted when moving her right arm, staring at her slightly raised fist. "It's becoming a lot more difficult to move this body," she complained.

"Want me to check it out for you?" Urahara asked, a grin on his face. "Come on, I'll cut you a good deal."

Rukia looked at him with wide, angry eyes. "No, thank you," she responded loudly. Jinta and Ururu stood behind her, in front of the door.

"Fine," Urahara sighed out.

"By the way, do you know if that special order I made has been delivered yet?" Rukia asked, her calm composure returning.

"Oh. Yeah, it's here." Urahara looked at Ururu. "Hey, Ururu. Go grab it out of storage, will you?"

"Oh, uh, okay." Ururu smiled as she started running towards the back of the shop.

"Just look for the box labeled 'new item', okay?" Urahara instructed as she ran by him.

Ururu returned about a minute later holding a wrapped up artifact. She approached Rukia and handed the object to her. Rukia unwrapped it a bit to look at it. She looked at Urahara whom stood up. "So, this is the only one you could get, then?" she asked him.

Urahara rubbed the back of his neck. "Oh, please. Give me a break. That's the second most popular one on the market. Wasn't all that easy to come by." He looked at her with a serious expression. "Look, just go easy. You can't fake it forever, alright?"

"Yes, I know that," Rukia answered. "Thank you." She headed out of the shop with the things she purchased. "Let's go." Sayuri and Yuki both looked at her.

"Ma'am, yes ma'am!" Sayuri saluted.

Yuki giggled at Sayuri. "Wait. Not yet," she said to Rukia. She quickly went back into the shop and went straight towards Urahara, wrapping her arms around him as she gave him a quick hug. "I'll come back later. I promise."

"You're always welcome here, Yuki," Urahara told her, patting her back a bit awkwardly.

Yuki pulled out of the hug she gave him and turned around, running back towards the door. "Love you!" she yelled to Urahara before she exited the shop a second time that morning. She really did love Urahara. He took care of her when she was separated from her remaining family and he had become like a father to her, a second one.

Urahara smiled a little. "I love you, too," he stated lowly. He did love her. In fact, he cared about her as if she were his own child...

* * *

Rukia, Sayuri, and Yuki were finally at school, standing within their classroom. Rukia and Sayuri were smiling at their fellow classmates while Yuki just smiled at her feet, moving her body side to side as she hummed a happy tone. "Good morning," Rukia greeted, her innocent act back once again. "Hi, everyone. How are you?" Ichigo, Keigo, and Mizuiro looked in the direction of the three females. Ichigo was standing behind Keigo, who was seated, and Mizuiro was also seated. Hana was sitting at her desk but she did not look in their direction and instead just waved at them while continuing to not look at them.

"Oh. Hey," Mizuiro greeted. "Good morning."

"You're looking as lovely as always, Rukia. You, too, Sayuri," Keigo stated with blush in his cheeks. He payed no mind to Yuki and she paid no mind to him, not really paying attention to anyone anyways.

"Why, thank you, Keigo," Sayuri stated. "But it's rude to leave out little Yuki. She's lovely as well, is she not? And her innocence makes her far more beautiful than most, don't you think?" She hoped that Yuki would always remain innocent minded but she feared that a day would come where something would occur that'll take that innocence away, leaving her like everyone else.

"R-Right!" Keigo exclaimed quickly to appease Sayuri. "You look lovely also, Yuki! Uh, very beautiful in fact!"

It took, at least, ten seconds for Yuki to respond. "Huh?" She looked up at Keigo, blinking in confusion as she stopped moving side to side and stopped humming. "Did you say something?" Keigo looked visibly upset that she hadn't heard the compliment while Sayuri laughed, wrapping her arms around her younger twin. "What? What's so funny?" Yuki asked.

"Nothing, nothing. You're just so precious," Sayuri answered. Yuki grinned.

"It's already third period," Mizuiro pointed out. "That's unlike you three. You've never done this before."

"Something came up. Sorry," Rukia explained before apologizing.

"Something that the three of you had to do together?" Keigo questioned.

Sayuri shook her head. "No, she could've done it alone. Yuki and I went along because she asked. Friends do things for each other."

"Yep, yep!" Yuki exclaimed cheerfully. "Hehe!"

Hana finally looked at the three. "Hmm. I'm guessing it was something rather important for you to be so late."

"It was," Rukia answered kindly.

Yuki strode over to Hana's desk and immediately spotted a blank sheet of paper along with a pen. She took the pen, without asking, and started drawing on the blank sheet of paper. She began to hum again as she drew, the humming slowly becoming singing. "Mm mmmm mm mmm~ Mmm mm mm mm mmm~ Drawing pretty pictures because it's fun~ Drawing pretty pictures for everyone~"

Hana smiled a bit as she watched Yuki draw. Upon the paper was a halfway finished picture of a Hell Butterfly, the drawing already looking so beautiful. "You draw very well. You should be an artist someday."

Yuki smiled widely at Hana as she paused her drawing. "Really? You think so?"

"Mhm. The drawings you make are always either lovely or beautiful," Hana answered honestly.

Sayuri approached Yuki, leaning over her shoulder to see the unfinished Hell Butterfly picture. She was in awe. She hadn't expected Yuki to have such a lovely talent. "Whoa. Why didn't you tell me you could draw this well? It's beautiful."

Yuki's smile remained, her smile more directed towards Sayuri now than it was directed towards Hana. "Thank you so much, Sayu! I'm happy to have made you proud!" She was very pleased with herself.

Rukia, curious as to what the drawing looked like, went over to the desk and looked at the picture. Her eyes widened in surprise. "Wow. It's not even finished yet and it looks so beautiful." She was in awe herself. She had seen some beautiful art before and Yuki's drawing was high on her list of favorites. However, her number one favorite would always be her own drawing of Chappy the Rabbit. Chappy for life, bitches.

Yuki loved the praise she was receiving and a tiny hint of blush was forming in her cheeks as she continued to smile, her smile now directed towards Rukia. "If you have any requests, I'll gladly make a picture for you of whatever you wish." She didn't mind getting any requests. She got them every once in a while from other female students at the school but their requests were always the same; they always wanted Yuki to draw a portrait of them. She hoped to get a different request for once.

"Well…" Rukia almost immediately pulled out a drawing she made of Chappy the Rabbit. "Can you draw Chappy the Rabbit for me?!" she asked, somewhat yelling out of excitement as she showed her drawing to Yuki. Forget her own drawing being her favorite; if Yuki could draw Chappy just as beautifully as she had with the unfinished Hell Butterfly, Yuki's version of Chappy would be her top favorite piece of art.

Yuki nodded as she started giggling and she lightly took the drawing from Rukia, glancing at it before looking back at Rukia. "I'll do my best, Rukia!"

Rukia looked towards Ichigo, smiling a little. "So, Ichigo. Um, may I steal you for a second?" She needed to speak to him about some private matters that only those whom are Soul Reapers, of sorts, can hear it.

Ichigo approached her, finally speaking as he stared down at her once he was standing right in front of her. "Huh? What do you want? If you want to talk, then why don't we just talk here?" He grunted in pain as Rukia punched him in the stomach and he fell to the floor.

Rukia pretended like she didn't do anything, even though everyone witnessed her punching him in the stomach. "Oh, Ichigo, what happened?" she asked, faking her concern. "I should get you to the nurse's office." She grabbed him and she dragged him out of the classroom. Sayuri shook her head, laughing her ass off after witnessing the incident, and she followed Rukia out of the room.

"She, uh, just hit him, didn't she?" Mizuiro questioned.

"I didn't see a thing," Keigo commented, blush in his cheeks.

"Poor Ichigo," Yuki commented. She looked down at the paper she was drawing on. "I'm gonna start drawing Rukia's picture now." She picked up the sheet of paper and headed to her desk with it, and Rukia's drawing, in hand. She was just going to draw on the other side of her own paper and she planned on finishing the Hell Butterfly picture afterwards. Might as well save paper. She even thought about drawing it on the back of Rukia's drawing and decided to go with that instead so that she could keep the Hell Butterfly drawing. She sat down at her desk and began to draw Chappy the Rabbit for Rukia, blocking out the loud voices that were all around her.

"I wonder what they are gonna talk about," Hana mumbled, slightly curious. She didn't make any effort in moving from where she sat to follow after Ichigo, Rukia, and Sayuri. She could just find out later on what that was all about. It didn't seem like something that would concern her or Yuki since Rukia just wanted to speak with Ichigo so she figured that it was probably a talk about some information that she herself already knew. That wasn't going to keep her from learning about what they talked of later on, though...

* * *

Ichigo, Rukia, and Sayuri stood outside, still within school grounds. Rukia tossed a cylinder shaped container, which also looked like a duck, to Ichigo. The container was labeled 'Soul Candy'. "Here," she said.

Ichigo caught it in his right palm. "What's this supposed to be?" he asked as he stared at it.

" Gikongan. Substitute soul pills. A substitute soul will enter your body when you swallow one of the tablets. It's for when I'm not around when you need to become a Soul Reaper," Rukia explained. The object would come in handy in a time of great need.

"When neither of us are around," Sayuri corrected, standing beside her.

"Right. That's what I meant," Rukia stated.

"Surrre," Sayuri responded, smiling.

"It's got 'Soul Candy' printed on it," Ichigo commented as he continued looking at the container.

"Oh, that's only because the Soul Society's Women's League complained. They didn't think Gikongan was cute enough so they changed it," Rukia explained.

"I like both of the names," Sayuri commented. " _The name doesn't matter anyways."_

"Alright." Ichigo had yet to look in their direction. "Why is it a duck?"

"Shut up." Rukia's tone made it clear that she was aggravated, though she had been calm just seconds beforehand. "I didn't even order that one. I had asked for Chappy the Rabbit."

"Okay. So, you wanted one shaped like a rabbit then, huh?" Ichigo questioned.

"That's correct. She's obsessed with that rabbit," Sayuri responded. "I'm sure you heard her asking Yuki to draw Chappy for her."

Blush appeared in Rukia's cheeks. She addressed Ichigo first. "How dare you mock me, you imbecile!" she yelled at him before she hit him in the stomach for a second time, making him lean over as he groaned before she stepped on his head, not too roughly as his head did not go anywhere near the ground but it was halfway there, considering that Ichigo was still leaning over. She looked at Sayuri, addressing her next. "And I am not obsessed with Chappy the Rabbit. I just adore how cute Chappy is."

Sayuri nodded. "Alright then. So, is it really necessary for you to be stepping on his head?" she asked, an amused smile upon her face.

"He mocked me," Rukia stated. "He deserves it."

"I wasn't trying to mock you!" Ichigo exclaimed. "I just didn't understand your explanation is all," he grunted out when Rukia placed more weight on her foot, putting more pressure against Ichigo's head.

"Go ahead and swallow one. It'll all become clear to you," Rukia stated, finally removing her foot from his head. Ichigo rolled his eyes and held up the container, placing it in front of his lips. He opened his mouth slightly and squeezed the duck head of the container, a green pill flying out and into Ichigo's slightly opened mouth. He swallowed it and after a few seconds, he flew out of the back of his body in soul form as his body fell forward against a white fence.

"Hey, it worked," Sayuri commented. "That's great."

"I'm out of my body," Ichigo commented as he looked at himself in his Soul Reaper attire.

"Don't be so shocked," Rukia told him. "Inside that empty shell of a body there resides a substitute soul." Rukia pointed at Ichigo's body that was still leaning over the fence. "And no one will even notice that your true soul is gone."

Ichigo watched as his body suddenly rose, no longer against the fence. "Wha?"

The substitute soul, later to be named Kon and later to be known as a Mod-Soul, turned towards Ichigo, Rukia, and Sayuri. He saluted. "Hi. Good afternoon. Nice to meet you. I'm Ichigo Kurosaki. Early to bed, early to rise. That's my motto." He sounded completely different than Ichigo. Only a complete idiot would fall for this.

Ichigo made an odd noise. Seriously, only a complete idiot would think that was Ichigo. Their voices were completely different and it was obvious that their personalities were completely different as well. "Early to bed, early to what?" Ichigo stared at Kon, his teeth gritted together. He appeared to be a tad horrified by the sight of another soul being in his body, especially when the soul was acting nothing like him. Sayuri laughed at the look on Ichigo's face, amused once again.

"Amazing, isn't it?" Rukia questioned, smiling close-eyed.

Ichigo looked at her. "Amazing? Amazing, my ass!" He pointed at Kon without looking at him. "What is that thing?! How can he be me when I'm me?!"

Rukia didn't answer his questions as she opened her eyes and looked at her beeping phone that sent her information on where a Hollow or Plus was located. "What perfect timing. We have a mission. Let's go."

"Are you deranged?! We can't just let him walk around!" Ichigo exclaimed.

"Don't worry so much, Ichigo," Sayuri stated. "He isn't going to cause any trouble."

"But they'll know he's a fake!" Ichigo complained loudly.

Rukia grabbed onto him and began to drag him away. "Stop complaining, Ichigo."

"Hey, you!" Ichigo yelled to Kon. "Make sure you attend my next class!"

"Do you need any of my help?!" Sayuri asked loud so she could be heard as she watched Rukia drag Ichigo away.

"Ichigo can handle it!" Rukia told her, speaking loud enough for Sayuri to hear before she and Ichigo were long gone.

Sayuri looked at Kon. "We better hurry on inside." She headed into the school building, figuring that the substitute soul would follow behind her shortly. " _I'm sure everything will turn out alright."_

Kon laughed. "Don't worry. I got everything under control," he said to no one in particular since the three were long gone. He stretched his legs before kicking and breaking the fence that he had been leaning over earlier. He smirked. "Alright. Feeling pretty good. Been too long since I had a body to get around in. Looks like I'm finally free."

"What are you doing out here?" A male teacher in a red track suit approached him. "Aren't you Kurosaki from the ninth grade, group three?" In his hand was a wooden sword-like object. "What have you been doing here?" He pointed the end of the object at Kon. "And why is that fence all busted up?" Kon just stared at him, a disturbing look appearing on his face as he slowly headed towards the teacher. "Huh? What's with that look?" Kon reached the teacher and jumped over his head as the teacher swung his wooden sword at him. The teacher gasped loudly and turned around, spotting Kon standing on top of a small school building that was quite a bit away from him. "He… He leaped to there?" The teacher was flabbergasted.

Kon laughed, staring down at the teacher. " _Surprise, surprise, old man."_ He hopped a few times before he jumped into the air, jumping over the fence that surrounded the rooftop of the main school building. He landed safely on the rooftop, hands in his pants pockets. He was going to be the cause of a lot of trouble...

* * *

The school bell began to ring, indicating that it was time for lunch. Hana had her head in her hands, staring blankly ahead of her. She was bored out of her mind, not being one whom loved school and work. Yuki immediately got out of her seat and skipped over to Hana's desk, holding some papers in her hand; she had not only drawn Rukia's picture and finished her own Hell Butterfly picture but she drew some other pictures on some blank paper she found in her bag. Sayuri, whom had entered the room again some time ago, followed closely behind her sister. "Look, Hana! Look!" Yuki exclaimed cheerfully, shoving the papers onto Hana's desk. "Look at the drawings that I made!"

Hana made a weird grunt-like noise before she glanced down at her desk, examining the drawings; there were three drawings in total. "You draw really, really...beautifully," she remarked as she stared at them. The first was the finished picture of a Hell Butterfly; it was as beautiful as it was when it was incomplete. The second was of Chappy the Rabbit; it looked almost exactly as how Rukia drew it but with much more detail to the design and it looked even cuter somehow. The final picture was of Hana; it surprised her because it was of her looking towards the front of the classroom with her head in her hands, bored and whatnot. "Whoa… I see that you were watching me. Stalker."

"Mm-hmm. And I'm not a stalker." Yuki grinned. "Turn it around now."

Hana blinked and did exactly as Yuki instructed. On the other side of the paper was a drawing of three swords; the Zanpakutōof herself, Sayuri, and Yuki. The drawing matched exactly what each Zanpakutō looked like in person. Hana's Zanpakutō had a normal coal black handle and hilt that matched ones of regular Katana swords. The blade was long, slightly curved at the tip, and the blade itself was plain red. Yuki's Zanpakutō had a bit of an odd and wide hilt, it being light blue like the very wide medium-sized blade itself, and with crystallized ends sticking out just before the blade formed, making it quite different than the usual hilt of a Zanpakutō. Lastly, Sayuri's Zanpakutō looked just like a regular Zanpakutō minus that the blade was a creamy color. "This is really, really amazing, Yuki," Hana commented, staring at the drawing in awe. "It matches what they really look like. It's amazing how you can keep images in your mind so that you can draw them so easily."

"Each picture is beautiful. The fact that she can draw so good will be a great excuse to use crayons all the time," Sayuri commented. "And to get creative."

Yuki giggled a little. "I'm glad you both liked them." She gently picked up the drawings and took them back to her desk, leaving Hana and Sayuri's location. She placed them inside a folder and placed the folder inside her bag for safekeeping. She skipped over to Orihime and Tatsuki afterwards. Orihime was eating a large loaf of bread and red bean paste while Tatsuki was eating normal food. "What are you eating, Orihime?" Yuki asked as Orihime munched on some of the bread in her hands.

"I'm eating red bean paste buns," Orihime answered after swallowing the food in her mouth. "Wanna try it?" Orihime smiled as she waited for Yuki's answer. She always asked Yuki if she wanted to try any of the food she had and Yuki's answer was always the same.

Yuki smiled back and nodded. "Sure." Orihime tore off a somewhat large amount of bread from the large loaf, handing it to Yuki before hanging her some red bean paste. Yuki dipped the bread in the paste before taking a bite, swallowing the bread after a few seconds of chewing. "Wow!" Stars appeared in her eyes; she really loved it. "That was amazing!" She ate the rest with glee, leaving some red bean paste for Orihime since it was hers to begin with.

Orihime pouted. "You ate almost all of my bean paste."

"S-Sorry!" Yuki blushed, smiling and rubbing the back of her head. "It was just too good!" Orihime continued to pout and she took a bite out of her bread, her pout remaining.

A thin female with short red hair, bangs parted on both sides of her face, purple eyes, and red framed glasses approached the three with her lunch in hand. She was smiling widely and, like everyone else, she was wearing her school uniform. Chizuru Honsho, a proud lesbian, was on the move to be near Orihime. "Orihime, why don't you and I eat together?"

"Um, yeah. Sure," Orihime answered after swallowing the bread in her mouth, looking at her. She sent an open smile her way.

Chizuru started to blush, noticing a piece of bread crumb at the corner of Orihime's mouth. She immediately pushed past Yuki, accidentally knocking her to the floor, and she wrapped her arms around Orihime. "That's so cute! You bite into an entire loaf of bread and smile with crumbs all over your mouth!"

Sayuri quickly went over to where the four were located, helping Yuki off of the floor. "Are you okay, Yuki?"

"Mhm." Yuki smiled with her eyes closed. "I'm a-okay! Not a scratch on me!"

Sayuri looked at Chizuru. "You should be more careful. You could've caused harm to Yuki."

Chizuru looked at her, still hugging Orihime. "Did I knock her down? I'm sorry."

Suddenly, Kon leaped onto the window sill across the room from them. Tatsuki gasped, catching sight of him, and she looked a bit horrified by the action that she just witnessed. Hana stared at Kon from where she was sitting, wide-eyed. While Yuki was with Orihime and Tatsuki, Sayuri had informed her of the substitute soul within Ichigo for the time being but she didn't expect it to jump through the window. Yuki, whom was facing towards the window after she had been helped up by Sayuri, tilted her head, confused by Kon's behavior since she believed it was Ichigo, not having been told that there was another soul within Ichigo's body at the moment. Sayuri was surprised, too, but only because she had thought the substitute soul would've came in through the door. Eventually.

"Excuse me. This is the ninth grade class group, right?" Kon asked.

Hana remained in her seat but watched Kon curiously. " _Do all substitute souls do shit like this? How...interesting."_

Everyone, including Sayuri and Yuki but excluding Hana, crowded around the window and desks, staring at Kon in surprise. Tatsuki was the first to say anything about the situation. Sort of. "What-?! Wait a minute! How the hell did you get up here like that?!"

Kon smirked. "What do you mean, how? I jumped up here," he stated nonchalantly.

Yuki whispered to Sayuri. "Why does Ichigo sound weird?"

"Because that isn't Ichigo. It's a substitute soul," Sayuri whispered in response.

Yuki blinked before grinning. "Oh, I see." She understood the situation now. She looked back at Kon, moving away from Sayuri and moving to stand beside Orihime in the middle of the crowd. "That was really cool!" she exclaimed, commenting on how he had gotten to the room.

"Thank you." Kon continued to smirk but he didn't look in Yuki's direction. At least, not in that exact moment.

"I bet he climbed over from the class next door," one of the male students in the classroom commented, not believing that Kon (whom he and every student, that wasn't Hana, Sayuri, and Yuki, thought to be Ichigo) had jumped from ground level.

Another male student disagreed with the guy's comment. "No way. He jumped up from the yard! I saw it!"

"Oh, boy," Hana mumbled as she watched everything unfold. " _This is not going to end well, is it...?"_

" _Oh, righteous! Their eyes are all over me. They can't get enough. They totally think I'm amazing,"_ Kon thought. He paid more attention to the girls in the classroom. " _The girls in this class are a bunch of hotties. I don't think there's a bad-looking one in the bunch."_ He spotted Orihime and stared at her breasts. " _Whoa!_ _Super-sized!"_ He climbed into the classroom finally and approached Orihime, pushing by many students and grabbing ahold of Orihime's left hand. Yuki stepped aside and the students moved to another side of the room, keeping their eyes on Kon. "Hello. I don't believe we've met," Kon said as he stroked Orihime's hair with his free hand. "Would you please do me the honor of telling me your name?" He kissed her left palm, causing most of the girls in the classroom to freak out and causing Orihime to blush slightly.

Yuki was confused as to why everyone was freaking out. She looked away from Kon and Orihime, looking at each of her freaked out female classmates. "I don't get it. It was only a peck on her hand. I don't see anything wrong with it." Sayuri shrugged as she strode over to stand near Yuki; she didn't see why it was such a big deal, too.

Kon turned his head towards Yuki, letting go of Orihime's hand. "Hey, you're kinda cute."

Yuki blinked and looked at Kon, facing him fully. "I am?" That's the first time a male had ever said something like that to her.

Kon's smirk faltered a little as he spotted the scar across Yuki's eye. It wasn't like he suddenly thought she was ugly because of it; he just didn't like seeing a scar on a girl he found cute. He was going to ask her how she got the scar when Hana got out of her seat and headed right towards them. She pulled Yuki behind her and stared at Kon. "Okay, Ichigo. You can stop joking around now. This isn't like you." She didn't want Kon bringing up the past behind the scar and she also didn't want Ichigo's reputation to get any more altered than it already was.

Kon completely ignored what she said but stared at her. "Say, you're kinda cute, too."

Hana didn't expect that at all. "Stop messing around alre-" She stopped speaking when Kon kissed her left cheek. She was surprised and she blushed lightly. "Umm…" She was speechless for once, not knowing what to say. Her surprise slowly turned into anger but she held it in, knowing that she couldn't attack him while he was using Ichigo's body. All she could do was clench her fists.

"Stop right there." Rukia had opened up the door to the classroom. She crossed her arms and stared at Kon. Kon's eyes widened and he sprinted towards the window. "Ichigo, look out!"

"Right!" Ichigo appeared on the window sill. Only Hana, Kon, Rukia, Sayuri, and Yuki could see him. Kon stopped running and stared at Ichigo. "Stop. There's no place to run," Ichigo stated. Kon looked behind him to see that Rukia had approached him.

Hana was pulled to the sidelines by Sayuri and Yuki. "You seem out of it," Sayuri commented.

"I was only surprised. Now, I'm just pissed and can't do shit about it," Hana answered, speaking honestly. "I'd love to do the honors of crushing that pill once it's out of Ichigo's body."

Yuki frowned and spoke softly. "Don't do that just because you are mad… That would be murder, wouldn't it...? Besides, it was only a kiss on the cheek... Nothing to murder someone over..."

Hana stared at Yuki, sighing as she saw Yuki's sad expression. "You're right. Sorry for thinking recklessly." She hated that she upset Yuki. She never wanted to do that. Yuki's sad expression became a happy one and she hugged Hana as thanks for changing her mind. Hana sighed again, longer this time. " _At least she is happy again."_ She turned her attention to Kon, Ichigo, and Rukia.

The three stood there, silent, and Kon suddenly began swinging his legs at Ichigo. Ichigo dodged the kicks. "Hey, you!" Ichigo yelled. He caught Kon's leg. "I mean, me. Why the hell are you doing this?" Kon didn't answer and Ichigo grunted as he got kicked in the face with the opposite leg of Kon's before getting kicked in the torso multiple times.

"Ichigo?" Orihime questioned. All she and the others could see was Kon kicking the air.

Hana sweat-dropped when she quickly realized the situation. "Oh, yeah," she stated low enough for only Sayuri and Yuki to hear. "Only we can see the real Ichigo. There goes his reputation."

"Don't worry. We'll fix everything once that rogue soul is dealt with," Sayuri reassured her in a low tone. "Right now, let's just watch and see if Ichigo can handle this alone."

Yuki blinked, pulling out of the hug she was having with Hana and looked at her sister. "We aren't going to help? Why not?"

"Because this is fun to watch," Sayuri answered.

Hana's sweat-drop remained. "So, you want to watch because it is entertaining instead of helping him?"

"Yep. However, feel free to help him out if you want to." Sayuri smiled deviously. "That is if you want your classmates to temporarily think you're just as crazy as, uh, other Ichigo."

Hana groaned. She knew that the students memories would be erased after the situation was handled, but she didn't want to go through it and be one of few to remember that moment. "...I guess we're gonna watch."

Sayuri continued to smile deviously. "I knew you'd see it my way."

"Whatever…" Hana grumbled.

"Look out!" Yuki shrieked. Hana and Sayuri both looked to see Ichigo flying at them. Sayuri grabbed Yuki's arm and pulled them both out of the way while Hana went the other direction, also getting out of the way. Ichigo crashed through a lot of desks.

"What's going on?!" a random student yelled. "What was that?!" The student was freaked out, more than when the girls freaked out over Kon's actions.

"Maybe it's some poltergeist!" a different student yelled.

Ichigo slowly got up and used a desk as support while he got up. Kon smirked and looked at Rukia. "So long," he said. He ran to the window and jumped out of it. Ichigo ran to the window and watched as Kon landed on the ground before running off in great speed. Rukia ran over to the window, too.

"What the hell does he think he's doing?" Ichigo questioned. "Is he crazy or what?"

Rukia stared at where Kon once was standing. "Is it even possible? No, he couldn't be one. He must be a...a Mod-Soul," she commented lowly. Ichigo jumped out of the window, dropping down to the ground. "Ichigo!" Rukia turned around and ran out of the room.

"Guess it's time we help out," Sayuri commented. She sprinted out of the room.

"Huh? Hey, wait for me, Sayu!" Yuki bolted after her.

"Hmph." Hana dashed after the two sisters without hesitation. " _That soul is causing a lot of fucking trouble and it's pissing me off, but why is it doing this shit, though? Does it have some sort of goal on its mind...?"_

* * *

"Oh, crap!" Ichigo yelled. He was inside of an abandoned warehouse. Hana, Rukia, Sayuri, and Yuki stood behind him, watching him complain. It wasn't really necessary for them all to help out, but more helpers meant a faster time of finding the rogue soul, the Mod-Soul. "Great. We lost him, or me, or whatever the hell you want to call it."

"We're at a dead end here," Rukia commented.

"We'll find him eventually," Sayuri stated.

"What?" Ichigo turned to look at Rukia and Sayuri. He pointed at them. "Look, I don't have time for your Soul Reaper nonsense! I have to capture him, I mean, me! I mean, I'm not sure I know what I mean!" He was confused, frustrated, and plain pissed off.

Hana snickered. "You seem to be feeling so many emotions at once right this moment."

"Shut up!" Ichigo exclaimed, looking at her. "You would be, too, if that thing was in your body doing crazy shit!"

"I-! Hmm." Hana crossed her arms and placed her right hand on her chin, thinking about it. "...Know what? That's probably true." She nodded shortly. "Yeah, I probably would've been feeling all of what you're feeling, too." Yuki laughed suddenly and Hana looked at her. "What's funny?"

"Ichi's just jealous that other Ichi kissed you first. It's really funny," Yuki stated. She laughed some more. "It's funny because I haven't seen Ichi jealous before." Ichigo hadn't witnessed that, though, and she knew this. She just wanted to see if he'd react in a jealous way like she wanted him to.

"He didn't see that happen, though," Sayuri pointed out.

Yuki giggled and smiled innocently at her sister. "I know."

Sayuri smiled. "You are really sneaky." She hugged her sister. "Very, very sneaky. I love it. I'm so proud of you."

Ichigo had paid no attention to the sister's short conversation. As soon as he heard that Kon kissed Hana, his eyes widened and he was making all kinds of weird grunting noises. "He k-k-k-k… He-! What?! Are you serious?!" He gripped Hana's shoulders. "He k-k-k-kissed you?!"

"It was only on my cheek." Hana brushed his hands off of her shoulders. "I was just as surprised about it as you currently are. And maybe a little mad about it for...some reason." She didn't like being kissed in any way by someone else. Unless it was actually Ichigo, then she wouldn't mind.

"It was...only your cheek?" Ichigo questioned slowly, almost immediately calming down. Hana nodded, humming a yes. "I…" He realized that his face was close to her own. "Sorry." He moved away, blush appearing in his cheeks. He turned away from her and went back to freaking out. "My life is over! He messed up everything!"

"Get over it already," Rukia told him. "A kiss is nothing more than a form of greeting. I fail to see the problem. I mean, in this book I was just reading, it said there are far worse things that can happen to a girl." That was sadly true.

" _What kind of book has she been reading?"_ Hana thought. " _Didn't think she'd need to read a book to learn about kidnappings, murder, and rape. This world is full of sick, disgusting bastards..."_

"I don't think he's worrying about the kiss," Yuki commented. She pouted. "He didn't react enviously at all."

"Actually, he seemed a little jealous," Sayuri told her.

"Yeah?" Yuki questioned her.

"Yeah." Sayuri nodded. Yuki cheered and did a small, weird happy dance. Sayuri snickered, shaking her head. " _I think that she wants those two to get together far more than I do. Or she is just a fan of love in general. Hmm."_

As Ichigo was still having his little meltdown, Hana looked at Rukia. "Do you have any clue why that soul is acting all...rogue?"

Rukia answered immediately. "Yes. I believe he's a Mod-Soul."

Yuki stopped her cheering and tilted her head. "A Mod-Soul...?"

"What the hell is a Mod-Soul?" Hana demanded.

Rukia's eyes narrowed a bit. "A while back, the Soul Society initiated a new project they called Spearhead. They took souls that had been modified for combat and placed them into the dead after their own souls had parted. They were to be used as soldiers against the Hollows. It was a reprehensible plan." She placed some paper, that she suddenly had on hand, on a counter in the abandoned house, pulling out a black marker and she began drawing as she continued. "All of the souls that were selected to take part in the Spearhead project were then altered."

Hana stared over Rukia's shoulder, looking at one of the drawings of a weird looking creature holding up a large boulder-like thing. " _Can't she just stick to just speaking? Why does she have to have pictures drawn out?"_ She studied that bad drawings more and realized what the creature was. " _Isn't that...Chappy the Rabbit?"_

"Once inside a body, one aspect of their host is made superhuman; an artificial soul built for battle, a Mod-Soul," Rukia continued. She showed them all the pictures she drew. "Do you understand this so far?" she asked.

Ichigo, having been done with his meltdown the moment Rukia stated what Kon was, stared at the pictures. "Yeah but your sucky little drawings make it seem like it's no big deal." Rukia hit him upside his head with her left hand, causing him to grunt in pain.

" _I completely agree with what he said but no way am I saying it out loud,"_ Hana thought, smiling.

"But the Spearhead project was rejected because it would force corpses to fight," Rukia continued.

"That would've been disgusting. Imagine the smell," Sayuri commented. "Literally the walking dead. Almost like zombies. Well, actually, practically zombies."

Hana suddenly felt sick as the thought appeared in her head. "I feel like I can smell them now. Thanks..."

"Sorry," Sayuri apologized sincerely. "I didn't think about what I said before I said it. Never really do."

"No kidding..." Hana replied.

"What happened next?" Yuki asked, wanting to hear the rest of the story.

"In the end, all of the Mod or Modified Souls that were still in the incubation stages were ordered to be destroyed," Rukia revealed.

Yuki frowned, becoming sad. "...Really...? Just like that...?" That was depressing. Those souls were beings, too. It wasn't right for them to have been killed just after being created.

"Yes, however, it seems some are still out there," Rukia pointed out.

"The soul within Ichigo's body," Sayuri clarified.

"We should start looking for him again," Hana suggested. "Who knows what the hell he'll do. The sooner we find him, the sooner there will be one less remaining Mod-Soul." She didn't want to have to deal with the being anymore after that shit was over.

"Wait, you actually agree with what the Soul Society has been doing?" Ichigo questioned her.

Hana looked at him. "I never said I agreed."

Ichigo let out a grunt. "Huh?"

"Whatever the Soul Society ordered must be followed," Hana stated. "I may be limited with my knowledge of that place but I do know that much. It can't be helped. He'll have to be destroyed once he is caught..."

Yuki started to get teary-eyed. "But it's wrong!"

Hana sighed. "I know it is, but it's what has to be done, Yuki."

Sayuri wrapped her arms around her sister. "Everything will turn out alright in the end. You'll see," she whispered to her sister. Yuki did not answer, only beginning to cry in Sayuri's arms. Sayuri waved for Hana, Ichigo, and Rukia to go on ahead, indicating that she and Yuki would catch up later possibly. The three of them quickly left the building, hurrying off to find Kon...

* * *

 ** _Word Count: 9,122_**


	8. Chapter 7: Friendship

**_It's been a very long time, hasn't it? I apologize for the long ass temporary hiatus. My best-friend whom was helping me with this story is no longer my best-friend but is still my friend regardless of what happened between her and myself. She is no longer a co-author to this story, meaning I will be doing this series alone (and it is because she didn't like the ending of Bleach and wants nothing to do with this story as of right now because of that). I apologize for the long wait but other than the reason that my friend had vanished, I also did not update due to my other fanfics and recently, I came up with a plan. All of this month, one of my main focuses is on this fanfiction. My other main focus is finishing my book and getting in shape. :) Wish me luck. Anyways, be expecting at least three more updates or so after this one! This chapter took me a week to create due to me working on it very little each day thanks to me not feeling well but I got it done!_**

 ** _This fanfiction will be finished but a sequel will not come out immediately after its finish (also, this story will be very long since it is the first three seasons of Bleach put together). Depends on if my heart is into it or not to create the next one so soon after this one is eventually finished. Anyways, enough of this author's note. Enjoy the new chapter that you have long been awaiting for, I suppose. :) See ya soon, my darlings._**

 ** _This Chapter Follows the End of Episode 6 and Half of Episode 7. Expect a long chapter ahead of you, somewhat. Also, if you did not know, I have edited the previous chapters. More was added to them and errors were fixed. Please, do feel free to look back at those. Lastly, I don't plan to create many scenes where an original character is not involved so expect multiple battles in the future being left out. Oh and about Kon. With Kon being inside of Ichigo's body, I never or hardly referred to Kon being inside of Ichigo's body and instead referred to it as if it were Kon's body because technically, it isn't Ichigo but Kon doing things so just giving you a heads up on that fact (I think that made sense)._**

 _ **Warnings: Errors in Grammar, Spelling, Etc. Out-Of-Character Moments. This Fanfiction Series Contains Original Characters. This Fanfiction Series Follows The English Dub Anime (Like All of My Fanfictions Do). This Fanfiction Series Contains Original Ideas, Some Meant to be Explained in the Far Future. Don't Like that, Don't Complain About It and Just Simply Don't Read It. :) It's As Simple As That. Please, Do Enjoy! You Have Been Warned. Oh and Some Scenes Have Been Left Out Along With Some Dialogue, and Some Dialogue From the Anime Has Been Reworded Along With Some Scenes Have Been Changed by the Slightest.**_

* * *

While Hana, Ichigo, and Rukia continued to search for the rogue Mod Soul, the Mod Soul in question was having the time of his life. Kon was enjoying himself, enjoying jumping and running around Karakura Town without a care in the world. He had a bright smile on his face, happiness filling him to his heart's content. The townspeople watched him as he went by, staring at him in either shock or surprise. Kon didn't ignore their looks and considered them all to be amazed by his talent. He jumped high into the sky once more and found himself standing on a fence. He ran along it, jumping most of the time as he went. He spoke to himself, sounding just as happy as he felt. "Boy! I heard that Mod-Souls had all different kinds of abilities! I'm so glad that my ability makes me stand out in the crowd." He let out a laugh. "Here we go!" He turned towards his left and leaped off the fence, soaring through the air for a long distance. He was leaping over a school and three students sitting in a corner alone caught his attention. "Wow, what are they up to?" He landed on top of the fence atop the wall behind the three students.

"Man, this is so much better than phys ed," a young student named Ino commented. He was wearing a gym attire like his two friends and in his hand was a gaming device. He had untidy, somewhat dark-brown hair that was sticking up in random places, he had dark-colored (perhaps black) eyes, and he was wearing thick black squared glasses. He was crouching down more than he was sitting on the ground. "What a waste of time," he continued. He was far more interested in playing video games than exercising and whatnot. He and his friends were completely unaware of Kon watching them with a grin.

"Yeah, this is a great way to ditch class," Hashigami, one of Ino's friends, remarked. He kept his dark-colored eyes on his own gaming system. He was sitting with his legs bent in front of him. He had light skin like his friends, his hair was somewhat light-brown and messy, and he had three freckles on each cheek.

"Dang!" Ino suddenly exclaimed, glaring at his gaming system a little. "I can't believe I lost again!" Kaneda, a young obese student with very short black hair and eyebrows that looked like flags, laughed at him as he continued playing the game. "What's wrong with you?" Ino questioned his character in the game. "Get him! I created you, didn't I?! Now, do what I tell you!" Ino was growing frustrated, wanting to win for once.

"Just kill him off," Kaneda suggested, not really caring in the slightest. Kon, whom was still watching silently, was suddenly no longer grinning.

"Yeah, totally," Ino agreed with the idea. "Anyone who doesn't obey their master should die." Immediately after he finished speaking, a large explosion within the game occurred and his character was obliterated.

"Jeez, you destroyed him," Hashigami commented.

"So what?" Ino questioned. "I'll just make a better one," he gloated. He started to laugh in an annoying way, his friends joining in carelessly. They didn't care about the video game character; new ones could be created in no time at all. The better the characters, the better the chances of winning. Their conjoined laughter ended when they heard Kon growl angrily and they all turned to look at him as he dropped down from where he was, standing near them. "What-? What do you want?" Ino asked him. Laying on the ground were their gaming systems, them having dropped them when they heard the sudden growling, and one of the gaming systems showed some static before it shut off.

Kon didn't say anything, his anger growing and he growled louder in anger before he attempted to kick the three young students. However, before his kick landed, Ichigo had appeared and blocked the kicking attack with his arms. The two separated from each other, standing a distance from one another. Running up behind Kon was Hana and Rukia, the two of them finally arriving. They both stopped as Ichigo and Kon began to fight, although it was mainly Kon whom was trying to fight as he attempted to kick Ichigo several times but missed because of Ichigo dodging. Ichigo jumped over Kon and Kon turned around to look at him, growling at him and glaring.

"If I stay calm, I'll be able to predict every move you've got," Ichigo commented as he stared at Kon. Kon jumped and tried to kick Ichigo multiple more times, only for Ichigo to dodge each of them. Ichigo, then, grabbed ahold of Kon's leg and ended up tossing him aside, Kon landed on his feet in a crouching position. Instead of attempting to fight some more, Kon jumped onto the nearby wall and ran away. "Wait, you! Get back here!" Ichigo exclaimed as he headed towards the wall Kon jumped onto.

Rukia's pager began to beep and she yelled out to Ichigo. "Ichigo, hold it!" She pulled out her pager, looking at it. "We have an order."

Ichigo looked towards her. "What? You have got to be kidding. At a time like this?" He looked back towards the wall. "What about him, though?! We can't just let him get-!" He let out a grunt of surprise as Hana sprinted past him and he watched with wide-eyes as she ran up half the wall before she gripped onto the ledge, pulling herself up and over the railing at the top. Hana took off in another sprint without looking back or saying a word to them, her mind focused on catching Kon somehow. "Uh... Nevermind?" Ichigo stared at the top of the wall where Hana had vanished, his eyes still wide. He had never saw her do something like that before.

"She appears to be more skilled in that form than I had originally thought," Rukia commented, a bit surprised by Hana's actions herself. She hadn't ever seen something like that before. She shook her head quickly, getting back to the matter at hand. "We have a Hollow alert. We need to leave now," she stated sternly. "We'll catch up with Hana afterwards." Ichigo grunted, sighed, and then nodded as he turned back towards Rukia. The two of them ran off, heading to find the Hollow.

Kon was running along the rooftops of multiple houses, unaware that he was being followed by Hana whom was surprisingly keeping up with him by using her master parkour skills that she had learnt. " _That really stunk. Here I was, in a really great mood, having fun, and those three had to ruin everything. That Soul Reaper didn't help out, either."_ Kon was pulled out of his thoughts, or rather **pushed** out of them, as he suddenly face planted onto the rooftop he was running on. "What the-?" He heard someone panting over him and he swung his leg as he turned onto his back. He stared in surprise as his leg was caught by Hana as she dropped to her knees beside him.

"You, Sir, really need to fucking relax because I only want to talk to you," Hana remarked, panting still from being out of breath. "Man. You have no idea how hard it was to keep up with you but at least I finally put my parkour training skills to some good use." She released her hold on his leg and began catching her breath.

Kon sat up as he put his leg back down and he stared at her, both curious and flabbergasted. He remembered giving her a kiss on the cheek and calling her cute. He was amazed that she had caught up to him when she wasn't even a Soul Reaper, unbeknownst to him. "You...just want to talk to me?" Hana nodded in response, her panting under control. "How did you keep up with me? How did you know where I was? What is it that you want to talk to me about?" He was asking question after question. He stopped himself from asking more when Hana raised her hand for him to pause.

"Firstly, I stated how I was able to keep up with you. I used my parkour skills. You know, jumping and climbing up walls, high jumping, flipping onto high places, vaulting, things like that. You get the gist of it. Secondly, I was there when you were trying to fight Ichigo before you ran off. I'm sure I surprised him and Rukia when I ran and climbed up the wall. Thirdly and lastly, I am not sure what I want to speak to you about but I know that I cannot harm you while you are inside of my best-friend's body. That and Yuki will be upset because she seems to care about what happens to you far more than the rest of us, believe me. She's too kind-hearted and innocent to not care about someone she barely knows," Hana told him as she lowered her hand. "Does that answer all of your questions?"

"Who's Yuki?" Kon questioned.

"You saw her earlier. She is the girl with a scar across her eye," Hana informed him. "You consider her to be cute and that is something that I can agree with because I know how she is." Kon opened his mouth to speak again but Hana raised her hand up again. "I will not tell you how she got it. It is up to her on whether or not you need to know that kind of information when you see her again." Kon let out a small sigh and he nodded. Hana was surprised at how civil he was acting. An unearthly distant roar filled the air and they both looked off towards the direction they had came from. "Hmm? A Hollow?" she wondered. " _Must be the one Ichigo and Rukia were going after._ "

"I sense it, too. It feels like it's going to that school I, erm, we were just at," Kon stated.

Hana focused on the Hollow's presence. " _Shit, he's right. I don't know if Ichigo and Rukia are still near that place or not. Damn it. I don't know if we'll make it there in time."_

"Who is it going to attack?" Kon wondered aloud as Hana stood up beside him, ready to get a move on. "It could be those three kids." He grunted as he became conflicted by his emotions. He hadn't liked what the kids had said but he didn't want them to die. He snapped out of it when he was suddenly shoved slightly. He looked towards Hana.

"Finally, you snapped out of it. Let's go before it's too late," Hana stated. She looked away from him and started running across the rooftop, backtracking her steps. "Come on!" she called back to him. Kon sprinted after her without another second of hesitation. The two of them reached the school just as the centipede-looking Hollow began its attack on the unsuspecting students that could not hear or see it. "Shit!" Hana exclaimed. She gasped as Kon ran past her at a great speed and she watched as he kicked the Hollow's mask, knocking it off its course. When it crashed into the ground, the ground rumbled and the strength of its crash caused the three students to fall on their asses. The kids stared up at Kon, whom had his back towards the kids and Hana stood behind them.

"It's that high school student from earlier," Kaneda stated to his friends. They watched as Kon let out a yell and watched as he ran towards the Hollow that they couldn't see. The kids were confused but Hana was not since she could see the Hollow. She watched in silence as Kon dodged the tentacles that the Hollow shot out at him, kicking them aside as he got closer to the Hollow. Kon dodged another but got hit in the left shoulder by another one. The three kids ran away as Kon dropped to his knees.

"Idiot," Hana muttered under her breath as she ran towards Kon, knocking him out of the way as more of the Hollow's tentacles attempted to impale him. "You need to think before you act sometimes, you know," she pointed out to him as she released him, her eyes on the Hollow.

"What else was I gonna do?! Just stand there and watch them die?!" Kon questioned.

"No. You could've just grabbed the kids and ran," Hana pointed out as she looked back at him, distracted. "That would've been a bit better."

"Look out!" Kon exclaimed as he pushed himself and Hana out of the way as the Hollow attacked again. He landed on top of her. "Now, I don't owe you one for helping me." Hana rolled her eyes. "I'll lead it away!" Kon got off of her and ran off, the Hollow trailing behind him.

Hana blinked in surprise as she watched him bait the Hollow away. "He...really is a damn idiot." She huffed as she stood up. She could see him jumping onto the school rooftop with the Hollow right behind him. "I'll just take the longer way up." She sprinted towards the school building, entering it unseen and she made it all the way to the rooftop after a while. Considering that she had taken quite a bit of time getting up there, she saw that Ichigo was finishing off the Hollow. " _Oh, good. Ichigo showed up."_ She approached him and Kon as the Hollow began to vanish, nearly face palming as she saw Kon leap towards the Hollow, kicking it in the face. She let out a squeal as Kon nearly fell off the building but Ichigo grabbed onto his foot. " _That damn idiot! That's Ichigo's body he's using! Is he trying to destroy it?! Sheesh!"_ She sprinted over as Ichigo spoke to Kon.

"You dumbass," Ichigo grunted, still gripping Kon's foot. "What were you thinking when you just did that? You see, once you have split a Hollow's head, that means he is finished. So there was no point in you going and kicking him." He attempted to pull him up and let out a louder grunt, one of surprise, as he felt arms around his torso. He didn't look to see whom it was as he was helped with pulling Kon back onto the rooftop. Down below, the three students had returned with their teacher and were scolded for lying, even though they were telling the truth. Ichigo turned around as Kon sat down and he blinked when he spotted Hana. "Hana?"

"Yo," Hana greeted. "Bout time you handled that Hollow." She moved past him and she crouched down in front of Kon.

Ichigo scoffed. "Yeah, whatever." He turned around and looked down at Kon. "Why did you saved those three? I thought you hated them from what I saw earlier before you ran off."

"It's hard to explain. If I hadn't helped those kids, they would have been killed. No one should have the right to kill anyone," Kon stated. Ichigo let out a quiet sigh, continuing to stare at Kon. Hana stared at Kon as well, her mind on the fact that Yuki would absolutely adore him because of his view on things revolving around death. "Right after I was created, the Soul Society sent out an order. They made an announcement that all Mod Souls should be destroyed immediately. So the very day after I was born, the Society gave me a death sentence. I waited. I trembled with fear inside that pill, just waiting to die. Day after day, I watched helplessly as the others were disposed of. Then, I got lucky. I got shipped out with a load of goods by mistake. But I always expected to be discovered and destroyed," Kon continued. He stood up and turned around, lightly leaning against the railing of the fence in front of him. Hana got out of her crouched position, staring at Kon. "I was alone for what seemed like years. I had quite a while to think about how things should be. And you know what I feel?" He looked towards Ichigo, whom was nearest to him, and continued speaking more. "I decided no one has the right to take someone's life away. I exist and I should have the right to live my life for as long as I want to. Like humans, I deserve that. So I refuse to take a life. That's the reason why I will never kill any living creature."

" _Damn it..."_ Hana moved her hand to her face, covering her eyes as they became watery. " _Bastard made me want to cry... Goddamn it... Fuck him... Ugh, Yuki really is going to adore this guy... Whatever the fuck his name is if he has one. Goddamn it all. I don't want this dude to die. He doesn't deserve that. Although, I am still pissed that he kissed my cheek. I don't like receiving affection from those I barely know..."_ She gently removed her hand from her face.

"Well, look who we have here," the three suddenly heard someone say. The three of them turned around at the same time, spotting Urahara standing there on the school rooftop with them. None of the three said a word as Urahara took several steps forward, walking by Hana as he approached Kon. Hana turned around once again, keeping her still teary eyes locked on Urahara. "So finally we found you. And what a picture," Urahara continued, staring at Kon. He lifted his cane and tapped his own right shoulder with it as he continued staring at Kon. "You're all beat up and worn out. All that trouble for nothing." He pointed the end of his cane at Kon, Kon staring at him in confusion. The end of Urahara's cane connected to Kon's head and flying out of the back of his head was his green pill; Kon was no longer within Ichigo's body. With a thud, Ichigo's body landed on the rooftop beside the green pill that was Kon.

"Huh?" Ichigo stared in confusion and surprise as he stared at where his body and the green pill laid.

"Mission accomplished," Urahara remarked as he took one step forward to where Ichigo's body laid. He leaned over and picked up the pill before he took a step back. "We're done. Let's go home." Hana heard movement behind her and she turned her head to see that Jinta, Tessai, and Ururu had arrived. She wasn't sure how long the three had been standing there but she knew that it hadn't been for too long since she hadn't seen them when Urahara had made his presence known.

"What?! We're done?! Oh, come on! I came here to have a real fight and that's all I get?!" Jinta exclaimed in complaint as he watched Urahara toss and catch the pill several times. What was the point in Jinta bringing his weapon if he wasn't going to fight in the first place? It was such a waste of time.

" _Ugh, I just remembered the other reason why I don't like being at Urahara's shop anymore..."_ Hana thought as she listened to Jinta complain. She frowned and crossed her arms as Urahara walked past her again. She was unsure what to do. She didn't want the Mod Soul to die but she didn't want to go against the rules of the Soul Society, despite her not being a part of such a place.

Ichigo made a move, however, as he stood several steps forward while he watched Urahara walk away. "Hey, hold on. What are you going to do with that Mod Soul now?" he questioned, causing Urahara to stop walking. Ichigo was not expecting Urahara to hear or see him and he certainly wasn't expecting to hear an answer.

Urahara turned his head towards Ichigo. "No choice. I've got to destroy him."

"You see me. How can that be?" Ichigo stared at Urahara. "Just who are you guys, anyway?"

"I'm not sure how to answer that question," Urahara stated, turning to face Ichigo fully.

"Eh, I'll answer that question for you later, Ichigo, to the best of my own knowledge," Hana commented, finally speaking up. Ichigo and Urahara both looked towards her. She looked towards Urahara. "Do you really have to destroy him, Kisuke? He didn't do much harm while he was running around." Not allowing him to speak just yet, she added in a guilt tripping comment. "Besides, it would break Yuki's heart if she learned that you were the one responsible for ending that Mod Soul's life. You should know, more than I do, that Yuki dislikes death and sincerely hates it when someone dies when they do not deserve such a cruel fate, especially so early in their life."

Urahara frowned at her as Ichigo eyed the two of them curiously, unaware that Urahara was Hana's adoptive father. "Yes, I'm well aware but I cannot change the rules," Urahara told Hana. He tossed the pill into the air again but the pill did not land back in his grasp. "Hmm?" He turned his head and came face-to-face with Rukia whom had finally made her appearance on the rooftop.

Within Rukia's clenched right hand was the green pill, her having had caught it while Urahara wasn't paying attention. "I believe that's mine. Thanks." She had her eyes closed, keeping the pill in her tight grasp in case Urahara had any ideas of trying to snatch it.

"Miss Kuchiki, you can't have that," Urahara pressed, his full attention on Rukia now. Hana watched Rukia and Urahara, unaware of the fact that Ichigo was eyeing her. She knew that she was going to have to explain how she knew Urahara later but she wasn't all that worried about that; Ichigo knew that she had adoptive parents but he didn't know that Urahara was one of them since he never met him before, as far as he can remember. She would've told him that very moment if it weren't for the situation at hand.

Rukia opened her eyes and she stared at Urahara. "And why can't I have it, Kisuke? I paid for it, didn't I?" She tossed and caught the pill like Urahara had been doing earlier. "Are you saying that it's your policy to seize goods that your customers have already paid for?"

"Hey, I'll give you a full refund," Urahara told her, staring at her with a frown. "How does that sound to you?"

"That's okay," Rukia answered. "I'm completely satisfied with my purchase. Besides, I know and you know that you're operating outside the law. And I also know it's not your job to recall this Mod Soul." She smirked at Urahara.

" _Mmm, that is true. I should've said that instead of using the guilt trip comment,"_ Hana thought, her eyes still on Rukia and Urahara. " _Come to think of it, Rukia is right about the other thing too... I don't think Kisuke even planned to destroy that Mod Soul in the first place, anyways. I think he might've just wanted to keep him to use for his own personal gain. And I consider that to be far worse than him killing the Mod Soul."_

"I just hope you know what you're getting involved in," Urahara stated, giving in. "So, don't blame me if you get into trouble."

Rukia turned away from him. "I won't. I've already dealt with a lot of trouble since I've been here." She walked away from Urahara as Urahara let out a sigh. Rukia placed the pill into her left hand and she held the pill out towards Ichigo. "Here." Ichigo held his right palm out and Rukia dropped the pill into it. "Come on, let's go," she instructed as she continued walking. Ichigo looked at the pill in his hand and hummed when he felt someone's hand on his right shoulder. He glanced over to see that Hana had approached him and he watched as she walked by him, following Rukia's lead...

* * *

The sun was beginning to set as Hana, Ichigo, and Rukia walked down the sidewalk. Ichigo had returned into his body and he was complaining, mostly in grunts, about the injury that Kon caused to happen to his body. Rukia was walking directly behind him and Hana was walking to his left. The three of them hadn't spoken much since they left the rooftop and none of them bothered mentioning that the Hirai twins hadn't caught up to them. However, before the three could start a conversation, Sayuri and Yuki finally made their appearance as they both ran towards the three of them, panting. Hana, Ichigo, and Rukia stopped walking as Sayuri and Yuki stood in front of them, out of breath.

"Where the hell were you two?" Hana questioned, breaking the silence. "We dealt with the whole situation without you already. Ichigo has his body back, mostly safe and sound."

"Sorry," Sayuri apologized, panting lightly. "It was hard to pinpoint where you three were since I'm still in a Gigai. I honestly hate this damn thing... It's rather annoying."

"I-Is the Mod Soul okay...?" Yuki asked quietly. She was worried that Kon had been sent to his death. She didn't want that...

"He's fine," Hana answered. "Safe and sound within his little pill. I can honestly say that the two of you would be great friends after hearing what he had to say, despite the fact that he happens to be a huge pervert from what we witnessed in the classroom earlier today." She was never going to forget that shit, that's for sure. She wasn't exactly looking forward to any more moments where the Mod Soul was a pervert.

Ichigo let out a groan as he placed his right hand against his left shoulder. Rukia looked at him. "You're really feeling it," she stated, referring to the injury that Kon had caused earlier.

"Sure am. That Mod Soul really took my body for a pretty rough test drive," Ichigo said. He removed his hand from his shoulder and he dug his hand into his right pants pocket, pulling out the green pill that was Kon. He growled at it. "You tried to wreck me." He started yelling at it. "You really piss me off, you know! Hey, are you even listening to me?!"

Yuki giggled as she watched Ichigo yell at the pill. "You look so silly, Ichi!"

Hana smiled at Ichigo as she stared at him, her expression showing that she was amused. "Might wanna calm down, Ichigo. Wouldn't want anyone to walk by and witness you speaking to a pill. And who knows if he can even hear you." She brought her left hand to her mouth as she held in a laugh, thinking about what would happen if someone did walk by and saw him speaking to a pill. They'd probably think he was crazy, maybe they'd even ask them if he was a mental patient. " _Ha, damn, that really would be something._ "

Blush formed on Ichigo's cheeks and across the upper part of his nose. He turned towards her completely, speaking angrily. Although, that anger was more directed towards Kon than it was directed towards Hana. "I still want to tell him how I feel. Help me out here. Is there a way I can give this damn Mod Soul what's coming to him?" Hana stared at him before she turned to face him completely and she turned her head to look towards Rukia. Ichigo looked towards Rukia as well.

"You need to insert him into a body, a dead one or one that doesn't have a soul," Rukia informed him.

"Aha, I gotcha," Ichigo answered. He started looking back and forth down the sidewalk that they were all standing on. Rukia, Sayuri, and Yuki moved so that they were crowding around Hana as Ichigo continued his search for a body that was unlikely to be found if he was just going to stand there looking in two different directions. "I'm looking hard for a dead body. And when I find it, bam, is he gonna get it!" Ichigo threw a fist to emphasize what he planned on doing to Kon. Hana kept her hand over her mouth, still trying to hold in her laughter. Yuki giggled more at Ichigo and Sayuri joined in, shaking her head.

Rukia, on the other hand, didn't seem to be amused in the slightest. "Just be quiet."

Ichigo ignored her as he turned around, his back facing the females. He spotted a lion plush doll sitting on top of some trash bags. "Oh, what do we have here?" He took several steps forward and he crouched down in front of the doll. He spoke to Rukia as he stared at it. "So, let me get this straight. You're saying a non-living object could work for this, right? That means I could put it in this thing, right?"

"Hold on. That's not exactly how it works," Rukia pointed out. She crossed her arms and placed her right hand to her chin. " _Although, on second thought, Sayuri and I are in a body that's not a real body, so I guess it really could work."_

"Don't knock it till you try it," Sayuri commented. "Go on ahead, Strawberry. Let's see if it'll work."

"Yeah," Hana agreed. "There's always a possibility of something being possible. Just gotta try it out. So, like Sayuri said, go on ahead."

"You think?" Ichigo questioned. "Alright. So, what do I do?" Hana shook her head, rolling her eyes at how dense he could be sometimes. Sayuri and Yuki both let out another giggle.

"I would imagine you would take the pill and put it in his mouth," Rukia told him flatly.

"You mean like this?" Ichigo inserted the pill into the mouth of the lion plush doll. "There." A few seconds went by and nothing occurred. Ichigo lifted the plush doll up by its left arm, holding it up as Rukia strode over to lean over and look at it. "So, you got any ideas that might work?"

"That should've worked," Rukia told him.

The lion plush suddenly began to move, swirling around in Ichigo's hand. Kon's soul was now connected to it. He was trying to get out of Ichigo's grasp. When squirming around didn't work, he stopped and glared at Ichigo. "That hurts, nimrod! Got it?!" He punched Ichigo in the face and, while it hadn't hurt, Ichigo released his grip on Kon. Kon landed on the ground and turned around to face Ichigo, pointing at him as he continued to glare. Hana, Rukia, Sayuri, and Yuki watched in silence. "Ichigo Kurosaki, I hereby challenge you to a no holds barred duel!"

"Count me in," Ichigo answered as he got out of his crouching position.

Kon began to panic as he noticed something he should've noticed before. "Hey, wait! When did you grow big?! Or did I somehow shrink?! What happened?!" He hadn't been aware of the fact that he was inside a plush toy. He still didn't seem to be completely aware of that fact. He looked at himself and he continued his complaint. "I'm in a super cute plush toy with soft paws and no muscle! This isn't fair!"

"Hey, Mod Soul, relax," Ichigo said as he crouched down in front of Kon. Kon looked up at him. "Time for some payback for what you were doing in my body earlier. Your little field trip could have taken me out completely. I need to make you understand." He let out a small gasp of surprise as Kon suddenly vanished. "Huh? Where'd he go?" He stood back up and looked around, spotting Kon in Yuki's arms.

Yuki was standing close to Ichigo, having had moved so that she could grab Kon. She held him gently in her grasp, his head laying against one of her shoulders. Yuki stared at Ichigo. "You are not allowed to harm him. He didn't mean to do what he did."

"Wha-?! What the hell, Yuki?! How can you be sticking up for him after what he did?!" Ichigo exclaimed, pointing at Kon. "He deserves to get, at least, a beating for all of that mess!" He reached forward, prepared to grab Kon.

"Ahhh! Protect me, Yuki!" Kon exclaimed, clenching onto Yuki's shirt. He couldn't do shit to Ichigo while he was inside of a plush toy. Yuki held onto Kon a little bit tighter, pouting at Ichigo as she turned body away from him slightly to keep Kon out of his reach. Ichigo grunted and moved his hands back to his sides, giving up in an instant. He already knew that he wasn't going to have his way, thanks to Yuki.

Hana finally released a laugh, her hands on either of her arms. "You should stop attempting to grab him. You should've known that Yuki was going to be like this." She continued to laugh. "Stupid. Always violence first with you. Can never just forgive and forget, huh?" Ichigo pouted as he looked towards her but he grinned a little as he watched her laugh. At least he amused her to some extent...

* * *

 **Word Count: 6,252**


	9. Chapter 8: The Day Before

_**Warnings: Errors in Grammar, Spelling, Etc. Out-Of-Character Moments. This Fanfiction Series Contains Original Characters. This Fanfiction Series Follows The English Dub Anime (Like All of My Fanfictions Do). This Fanifiction Series Contains Original Ideas, Some Meant to be Explained in the Far Future. Don't Like That, Don't Complain About It and Just Simply Don't Read It. :) It's As Simple As That. Please, Do Enjoy! You Have Been Warned. Oh and Some Scenes Have Been Left Out Along with Some Dialogue, and Some Dialogue From the Anime Has Been Reworded Along with Some Scenes Have Been Changed by the Slightest.**_

 _ **This Chapter Follows the Rest of Episode 7. The Episode was Split in Half to Avoid Lack of Updating This Story This Month. Hopefully, the next chapter will be all of Episode 8 and 9. So, that will take a little longer to be released than this chapter had been. And that may also be the last update for this month, depending on how long it takes for me to finish that since there are only, like, two weeks left of this month after this weekend. Let's just hope I can get another two updates up by May, making it four updates in all. After this month, it will be a while before I update this again because of the plan I made. But then again, I might slightly change those plans, depending on if the idea will work out or not but most likely, this will be updated again sometime after August once the updates of this month are over with. We'll see, though.**_

 _ **Please, do enjoy this chapter, my lovely readers! Love you lots!**_

* * *

The sounds of Kon rooster crowing indicated the start of a brand new day. Hana was sitting by the closet, having woken up just moments before when Kon jumped on her head to wake her up for whatever reason. Laying wide awake by Ichigo's bed was Yuki, her having decided to sleepover for the night since Kon didn't want to separate from her grasp. Within Ichigo's closet were Rukia and Sayuri, the two of them fitting inside it somehow and no one questioned further as to how the two had gotten in it and fit; how the hell they managed to sleep in there was unknown, too. Ichigo was laying on his bed, asleep, and Kon climbed onto the desk beside the bed, ready to wake Ichigo up like he had Hana but in a much ruder way, though it probably wasn't going to do much since he weighed nothing.

"Hey, Ichigo, it's morning. Get up. Rise and shine!" Kon jumped from the desk, his stuffed plush ass landing on Ichigo's chest. "Don't try to play dead with me, you lazy Soul Reaper wannabe!" He pawed at Ichigo's face, trying to get him up. "I know you! I'm warning you! If you don't get your butt out of bed, I'll hide in your backpack and go to school with you!" he threatened loudly as Ichigo moved his right hand to his forehead, his eyes opening as he scowled at Kon. "And all the girls will say 'poor Ichigo is a big baby because he brings his widdle baby teddy to school and' Ow!" Kon was lifted up by Ichigo whom had grabbed onto his head roughly.

"Ichi..." Yuki spoke in a quiet warning tone as she sat up. She had her eyes on him, wondering if he was going to do something bad to Kon or not. Despite her innocence, she had her moments where she seemed anything but innocent. Kind of like the time she hit Keigo in the head for saying something about Chad. Ichigo glanced at Yuki before he tossed Kon roughly towards the closest, nearly hitting Hana in the face with him. Kon grunted as he hit the closet door. Yuki frowned, letting out a long sigh. "You don't have to be so rough towards him, you know..." she gently complained.

"I can't have you starting the day that wound up," Ichigo remarked, speaking to Kon as he sat up in bed. He didn't mean to ignore Yuki like that but he was already in a bit of a bad mood that morning. He looked over towards where Kon laid on the floor. "Make like a real stuffed animal and shut up, Kon."

Hana blinked, wondering if she had heard him right. She spoke for the first time that morning. "Hmm? Kon? You finally decided a name for him?" She stared at Ichigo, wondering how the hell he came up with a name like that. Yuki tilted her head as the name flowed through her mind and she smiled; she liked the name very much and she believed the name suit him well.

Kon stood up, pointing at Ichigo. "And just where did you come up with that name for me?"

Ichigo rubbed his head. "We've named you Kon because it's short for Mod-Konpaku. That's another name for a Mod-Soul like you."

"We?" Hana questioned, raising her left eyebrow. "I don't believe I had a say in what his name was gonna be. Unless you meant we as in you, Rukia, and Sayuri." She left Yuki's name out, assuming that she hadn't had a part in naming the Mod Soul either. Ichigo waved his hand, waving off what she had said. Hana sighed and stood up, stretching as she strode over to the end of the bed towards where Yuki sat. " _So, Kon, huh? That's...nice enough, I guess. Least we have something to call him now."_

"You're not the boss of me and I want a say in this!" Kon exclaimed. Blush appeared in his cheeks as he pressed his paws together. "Please call me Mod instead. That sounds like a cooler name, doesn't it? Huh? Plush Bod Mod, now that's a snappy name." Hana shook her head, rolling her eyes at Kon's attempts of getting a better name. Yuki giggled a little, listening quietly to the conversation.

"No way," Ichigo responded without hesitation.

"Oh, why not?!" Kon complained, the blush in his cheeks gone as he glared at Ichigo.

Ichigo was sitting properly on his bed now, no longer underneath the covers. "Because you're right. Mod does sound cool but there's nothing cool about you," he insulted Kon. Though one would consider the two of them friends, they weren't exactly on the best of terms as friends. Ichigo and Kon seemed more like unfriendly friends towards one another or unlikely friends, to say the least. Ichigo's insult towards Kon made Hana snicker as she listened quietly to the conversation.

Kon growled at the insult and was about to speak when Yuki spoke up instead, making Ichigo and Kon look in her direction. Hana even looked in her direction, remaining silent. "I think Kon is cool," she commented, smiling. "Very cool name. Very cool Mod Soul. It's perfect." She clapped her hands together. "Yep, yep! The perfect name for an imperfect being! I love it! Makes him even more special! Mmmhmm!" Yuki wasn't just trying to please Kon, she was speaking truthfully about her thoughts. Although, it would be an added bonus if Kon appreciated her words of kindness and truth. It appeared he did appreciate her words, perhaps a little too much, as he stared at her with stars in his button eyes and blush in his stuffed cheeks. "Hmm?" Yuki tilted her head at Kon, wondering what the expression meant.

Kon snapped out of his gaze and he looked back towards Ichigo, smirking as he pointed towards Yuki. "Did you hear that, Ichigo? Yuki thinks I'm amazing!" He crossed his arms and continued to smirk at him. "I suppose the name you picked isn't too bad after all if it's got Yuki cooing over me." He looked back towards Yuki, his smirk becoming more of a smile as he pressed his paws together. "My dear sweet, Yuki! Don't you ever change, my darling!" He loved how kindly Yuki spoke of him. He wasn't developing a crush on her or anything, though. He more or less admired her, thanks to how kind hearted and innocent she was.

"Quit harassing Yuki," Ichigo remarked, a little bit of anger in his tone.

"Um, Ichi, I don't really think that counts as harassment," Hana pointed out. "He was, erm, complimenting her?" She wasn't exactly sure if that was a compliment or a flirty line. Maybe a mixture of both? She still wasn't sure. She just really couldn't tell which was which with someone like Kon.

Kon looked back towards Ichigo, his arms crossed again and his smirk back. He completely ignored what Hana had commented and continued to boast to Ichigo about how Yuki liked him. "Don't be jealous just because Yuki thinks I'm cooler than y-" He was unable to finish his sentence as the closet door opened behind him and he was stepped on by Rukia whom got out of the closet. Sitting behind Rukia was Sayuri and they were both dressed in a school uniform. Sayuri was rubbing her eyes a bit, yawning as Rukia glared at Ichigo while not realizing she was stepping on Kon.

"I will not stand for all this commotion!" Rukia exclaimed. "I like getting dressed in peace." How she and Sayuri managed to get dressed inside the cramp closet was a mystery, just like it was a mystery on how the two fit in there or even slept in there together.

"It would be nice to get some peace and quiet," Sayuri yawned out. She rubbed the back of her head. "But I suppose that isn't gonna be an option anymore." With Kon inside that bedroom now, there definitely wasn't going to be many moments of peace and quiet. Unless they taped his mouth shut and tied him to a chair leg to keep him from removing the tape. Sayuri hummed as she thought about that. " _Hmm._ _Now, that is a very intriguing idea. Might need to put that into action later... But I suppose it all depends on, um, Kon's behavior. I think that's his new name from what I heard. Kon."_ She glanced around the room, looking for Kon. " _Where'd he go, anyways?"_ She looked down towards the floor where Rukia stood and snickered before she reached forward to tap Rukia on the shoulder. "Um, Rukia. You're standing on Kon."

Rukia hummed as she looked down. Indeed she was standing on Kon, still, and Kon had the perfect view of Rukia's undergarments since she happened to be wearing a skirt. She stared down at him, progressing this fact slowly as Kon spoke. "Hey, Rukia. We were just talking about how cool my new name is. Isn't Kon a cool name? Fits me perfectly, right?" he asked her. Rukia didn't answer as she started stomping on him, her having fully realized what kind of view Kon had. Kon grunted. "Ugh, my stuffing!" he exclaimed. Hana and Ichigo watched, sweat dropping from their foreheads. Yuki tilted her head, confused by Rukia's sudden rough mannerism. Sayuri snickered more as she watched, still sitting in the closet.

"Knock, knock. Ichigo, I'm coming in," they all heard Yuzu say from the other side of the closed bedroom door. Yuki looked towards the door, blinking as she wondered what was going to happen next. She looked back towards the others and she blinked again, her eyes wide. Hana and Ichigo had sprung into action, both of them having quickly pushed Rukia back into the closet and had picked Kon up, tossing him into the closet as well. The two quickly closed the door together and somehow, the ending result of the matter looked a bit...suggestive. Ichigo stood behind Hana with his hands pressed against the closet on either side of her head, his face close to the right side of her neck and Hana's hands were rested underneath Ichigo's. Yuki looked away from the scene, turning her attention elsewhere as she suddenly felt awkward. The funny thing was that Hana and Ichigo didn't realize how suggestive their position was as Yuzu walked into the room. She had a smile on her face and she noticed Yuki sitting on the floor. "Hey, Yuki," Yuzu greeted quickly. "Ichigo, I thought you'd like to know your friends are down-" Yuzu stopped speaking as she spotted Hana and Ichigo in the position they were in when she looked towards the closet as she walked further into the room.

"Uh..." Hana and Ichigo both looked towards Yuzu before looking towards each other, both of them turning bright red as they noticed their position. Ichigo quickly jumped away from Hana and Hana awkwardly rubbed the back of her head, avoiding eye contact with everyone. "I was just helping Hana put away some blankets!" Ichigo lied loudly and quickly, his gaze on Yuzu. His face wasn't as red as it had been. "You see, she and Yuki used a lot last night during the sleepover! Haven't gotten all of them up yet, though! Right, Hana?!" The blankets Hana and Yuki had actually used were still laying on the floor.

"Uh, yeah! Definitely!" Hana exclaimed, keeping her eyesight towards the closet. Her cheeks were a light color of red instead of her entire face being a bright red. She had calmed down a bit from her embarrassment, if that's what you'd call it. Yuki looked back towards where Hana and Ichigo stood, smiling to herself. One day. One day those two would truly be intimate towards each other.

Yuzu blinked, her temporary confused frown becoming a grin. "Okay!" She didn't exactly buy that story. In fact, the only thing going through her mind was that Hana and Ichigo finally admitted their love for each other but they didn't want anyone knowing just yet. She was fine with pretending she didn't know anything. Sooner or later, they'd tell everyone. "By the way, Mizuiro and Keigo are downstairs waiting for you," Yuzu informed Ichigo.

"They are?" Ichigo questioned. He turned towards his desk and picked up his clock. "Wow, look at what time it is! I gotta get going quick!" In a hurry, he began removing most of his clothes despite that Hana, Yuki, and Yuzu were in the room watching. His mind was so focused on getting ready that he didn't care. Yuki and Yuzu both looked away, Hana having not been looking in the first place since she was still looking at the closet.

"Your breakfast is ready so you'd better get downstairs," Yuzu told Ichigo before she left his bedroom, slight blush in her cheeks from witnessing part of Ichigo's hurriedly changing.

Even though she hadn't been looking, Hana knew exactly what Ichigo was doing since she could hear clothes hitting the floor. " _The damn idiot should've waited until Yuzu was out of the room first. He could've taken away the complete innocence of her mind,"_ she thought as she stared at the closet constantly. " _Same with Yuki but for all I know, she isn't really fazed by that kind of shit_. ... _Why do I feel the urge to look at him, though...?"_ She really wanted to peek but she kept her eyes on the closet instead. " _Resist the perverted urges, Hana... Don't be like Kon... Goddamn it, that Mod Soul's personality is influencing me already, isn't it?! I'll kill him!"_

 _"Ichigo is silly,"_ Yuki thought as she stared at everywhere else except towards Ichigo. " _He should've warned us before getting in the almost nude. Silly head. He needs to use his head more. So super silly."_

Ichigo headed over to his open window, buttoning up his white school shirt. He looked down towards the street where his two friends stood by a pole. "Check it out, guys. I just woke up. Hang on. I'll be right there," he told them, speaking loudly so that they'll hear him.

Keigo was smiling with a closed mouth as he stared back up at Ichigo. "It's all good. We'll see you in a minute," he replied, speaking not as loud as Ichigo had but loud enough for his response to be heard.

Mizuiro stared up at Ichigo, smiling with a closed mouth as well. He closed his eyes, his smile remaining as he spoke up next. "Yeah, take your time. But hurry up."

"Yeah," Ichigo replied to them both before he stepped away from the window. Yuki stood up from the floor at last, stretching cutely. Hana turned her attention away from the closet as she looked towards Ichigo. "Hey," Ichigo gently said, gaining more of Hana's attention.

"Hmm?" Hana hummed. Ichigo didn't say anything else right away and she frowned, instantly feeling that something was wrong. But then, she sudden half-smiled. "Ah, I see. You are wondering if they have their memories from yesterday, huh? I'll assume that they don't since I didn't hear Keigo yelling about wanting you to explain your actions. I mean Kon's actions." She glanced towards the closet as she heard its door open and she watched as Kon fell out of it, making a squeaking sound as he landed. She, then, eyed Rukia as Rukia removed herself from the closet a second time. Hana bit her lip when she caught sight of Sayuri whom was sitting in the closet rubbing her head, her hair all messed up and her clothing was all out of order. "Uh, sorry, Sayuri."

Sayuri removed herself from the closet after Rukia moved out of her way. She made sure that she moved herself far from Kon so that he wouldn't view her undergarments. She began fixing her clothing after she had moved to be standing beside Yuki but she faced herself towards Hana's direction, which was by the closet she had moved away from. "No big deal. It would've been hard to explain why Rukia and I were here if we had been spotted. However, just try not to do that again please or at least be a bit more gentle when tossing Rukia onto me because that shit kind of hurt. She isn't light, you know." Hana nodded in her direction, smiling a little.

"About your classmates memories," Rukia remarked, speaking up. She had overheard what Hana had said before she had gotten out of the closet. "We did erase their memories of what happened yesterday. We didn't think you'd want them to remember it," she clarified.

"You're right," Ichigo commented. "I wouldn't want them to. That was a day I wish I could forget." He scratched the back of his head. " _But I do feel like I've forgotten something."_ He picked up his watch that laid on the desk by the window he was standing at. He fastened it around his right wrist and he let out a barely heard grunt as he saw what the date was: June Sixteenth. How could he have forgotten what date it was?

Rukia opened the window by Ichigo's bed. Sayuri was right behind her with Yuki on her back, Yuki re-wearing her uniform from the day before since she didn't have a clean uniform with her. Rukia looked towards Ichigo. "I'm leaving now, Ichigo. I'll see you at school." She continued to stare at him and when he didn't respond, she found his behavior unusual. "Ichigo? What's wrong?" He still didn't answer her. "Ichigo?" She frowned. She suddenly released a loud gasp as she was pushed forward, halfway out the window now. "What the-?!" She turned and saw that Hana had gotten onto the bed and was the one pushing her.

"Go," Hana instructed, the tone in her voice flat. "Go. We'll see you soon."

"Hana?" Sayuri questioned, looking towards her. "Is something the matter? You aren't usually this...pushy." Hana looked towards her, her eyes without emotion. "Hana...?" she wondered quietly. She watched as Hana glanced towards Yuki and she was certain that the two shared a look at one another. Hana removed herself from the bed, not saying another word.

"Do as Hana asked," Yuki whispered to Rukia and Sayuri as the two Soul Reapers eyed Hana. "Everything will be explained in time. Please, let us just go now." She knew what was the matter and she didn't think it was her right to tell them when it wasn't her business to speak of something that didn't involve herself. Reluctantly, Rukia and Sayuri listened to her, the three of them quickly and quietly leaving Ichigo's home.

Hana slowly approached Ichigo and stood silently behind him for a few seconds before she spoke up. "Tomorrow is..." She didn't get her words out completely. She figured that was the reason why he was acting strange. She knew exactly what the date was and hated that she had been reminded of it. "...Are you okay...?" she asked hesitantly.

Ichigo let out a low sigh and responded unconvincingly. "I'll be fine." He turned around to face her and he stared down at her. "Are you?" he asked, turning the question towards her. He knew what this day meant for Hana. Not only had the two of them met on that date but they both had lost someone they loved on that date, the date of June Seventeenth. However, he had been told a different story on how Hana became an orphan and believed her parents to have died in a house fire like he was told. And ever since the false story was told, Hana had started going to the graveyard with the Kurosaki family every year when the death anniversary hit and even with her being around those who were mourning their own loss, Hana would choose to mourn alone and in secret.

"...I honestly don't know, Ichigo," Hana answered after a moment of silence. She felt her eyes beginning to water and she looked away from him. " _Damn it... I usually can hold my tears in until I'm alone... Why can't I do it now...? I don't want to cry in front of Ichigo..."_ She was pulled out of her thoughts as she felt arms wrapping around her head and felt a head sit on hers. Ichigo was hugging her, trying to comfort her. She smiled a little as she laid her head against one of his shoulders. He really wasn't that much taller than her, her height ending around his chin area or perhaps around where his nose was. "...Thank you," she whispered to him. She had really needed a hug right then and there.

"Yeah. No problem," Ichigo replied softly, speaking the softest that Hana had ever heard him speak. He was normally loud or spoke in a normal tone. It was strange hearing him speaking any lower or more gently than he usually did, but the tone he used made Hana smile a little more. She felt at peace, even if it was for a short period of time...

* * *

Rukia, Sayuri, and Yuki made it to school sometime before Hana and Ichigo. Rukia and Sayuri were standing around behind Yuki's desk silently as they watched Yuki interact with the other students. The two of them were quick to notice that Yuki ignored most of their fellow classmates, only giving a gentle greeting when one was said to her and she was never sticking with a conversation, always keeping it short but polite as she remained sitting at her desk while she waited for class to start. The two weren't sure why she was acting in such a way but maybe she was always like that or maybe she just wasn't in the mood to be bothered with at the moment. The former was more likely than the latter, however.

Rukia suddenly let out a squeal of delight when Yuki, whom had left her bag inside the classroom, grabbed her bag from beside her desk and pulled out the picture she had promised to make. Rukia had the biggest smile on her face as she stared at the picture once it was handed to her; she loved it very much. "Thank you, Yuki!" She hugged the picture to her chest, careful not to rip it accidentally.

Yuki grinned at her as she stood up from her seat, having turned around in her seat to hand Rukia the drawing beforehand. She might as well walk around while she waited for class to begin. "I'm glad you like it, Rukia!" She was proud that Rukia loved her work of art. She walked away from her desk, leaving behind a very happy Rukia and an amused Sayuri. She walked over to Orihime's desk, ready to make conversation with her like she normally did. "Hey, Orihime!" she exclaimed cheerfully. "What's up?!" She stood beside Orihime's seat, smiling brightly.

"Where were you yesterday, Yuki?" Orihime asked her as she looked towards her. Orihime was pouting, along with having a look of worry on her face. "I was worried that something had happened when you didn't come home. Are you okay?"

Yuki let out a loud squeal as she realized that she hadn't informed Orihime that she was sleeping at Ichigo's house the previous night. "Oh, no! I forgot to let you know about the sleepover I was having with Hana and Ichigo! I'm so sorry!" She leaned over, bowing and she nearly knocked her head against Orihime's in the process. "Forgive me, Orihime! I really thought I had told you but I guess my mind was on something else at the time!" She leaned back up and she clapped her hands together, her eyes shut tightly. "I'm super sorry! I won't do it again!"

Orihime waved her left hand, grinning with her eyes closed as she giggled a little at Yuki. "It's okay. As long as you hadn't gotten into any trouble, it's fine. I'm glad you were somewhere safe." She moved her left hand to behind her head, rubbing it. "But yeah, please do tell me next time so that I won't worry all night long." She hadn't had any way of contacting Yuki or anyone that Yuki knew, thanks to her not having their number and to Yuki not having a cellphone like most people. In the end, at least Yuki was alright.

Michiru, with a sketchbook in her hand, walked over to them. However, her attention was more on Tatsuki, whom was sitting quietly next to Orihime, than it was on Orihime and Yuki. Yuki watched her silently, wondering what she wanted. "Excuse me, Tatsuki," Michiru said. "You take art class, don't you?" she asked. Out of the four of them, the only one who wasn't taking an art class was Yuki despite her love of drawing.

"Mhm. Yeah," Tatsuki answered, staring at Michiru. Yuki continued watching Michiru in wonder while Orihime just looked around at the three of them, grinning to herself.

"So, did you do our assignment, the one that was on our future?" Michiru asked curiously, slowly getting to the point of why she had walked over to them.

"How we see ourselves in the future?" Tatsuki questioned. She didn't exactly get an answer back to her question but nonetheless, the answer was an unspoken yes.

"Can I see yours?" Michiru asked, finally revealing why she had approached them. "I drew one but it's not very good," she continued, displeased with her work of art that she had created. Maybe seeing hers would inspire her to draw something, well, better and more likable.

"Oh, sure." Tatsuki dug into her bag and pulled out her own sketchbook. "Here." Her portrait was of herself holding up a champion's belt and she was standing within a boxing ring, a very build dark-skinned man laying on his stomach by her feet. Michiru stared at the drawing as she picked up the sketchbook, impressed. "That's me," Tatsuki stated proudly. "It shows how I'm going to be the first female vale tudo champion."

"This is awesome. My drawing looks so lame," Michiru remarked. "I don't even want to show it to any of you." She was doubting her own skills because of the excellence of her friend's drawing. But anyone would get a little discouraged if they saw something that was far greater than what herself or himself could create. She looked over at Orihime. "So, Orihime, can you show me what you drew?" Yuki looked towards Orihime, too, as she suddenly became eager to see what she had drawn.

"I'd love to. I'm glad you asked to see it because secretly, I'm very proud of what I did." Orihime dug into her bag, pulling out her sketchbook. Unlike Tatsuki, she didn't have it already on the page of her drawing. She opened up her sketchbook and turned it to the page of the drawing. Michiru had placed Tatsuki's sketchbook down and she was waiting to be amazed yet again by another beautiful work of art but when Orihime showed her the drawing, she just stared at it confused. Orihime's drawing was completely unrealistic, the picture being of her as a robot within a futuristic city. "I'll have a velocity of two-hundred forty miles per hour. A twenty-thousand degree Celsius flame will shoot from my mouth and my eyes will project destruction beams!"

Yuki stared at the picture in awe. "Wow. That's amazing, Orihime, but I think that something like that can only happen in your dreams." She wasn't clueless about unrealistic things, thankfully. "Hmm." She placed her right index finger to her lips, thinking. " _What exactly should she be in the future if not a robot? Let's see... I got it!"_ She clapped her hands together. "Orihime, maybe you should have your own flower shop in the future! That way, you can see beautiful flowers everyday and you get to sell them to those whom wish to have such beauty within their homes! It's perfect for you because you're just as beautiful as flowers! Plus, it is much more realistic!"

Tatsuki grinned. "Hey, that's not a bad idea."

Orihime placed her sketchbook down as she thought about what Yuki said, imagining herself as such. She grinned. "I'll be able to see the smiles of the customers each time they buy a flower! That really is a great idea! I can make so many people happy with that kind of job! Thanks, Yuki!" She let out a gasp. "Oh, no! I don't have time to make new picture, though!"

Yuki giggled. "Hey, that's okay. At least now you have a new idea of what your future could be. I hope you get a good grade for good effort. It really is a nice drawing despite its unrealistic nature." She tilted her head to the side as she closed her eyes, grinning. "And if you ever need any help with any of your future art assignments, just ask me and I can help you come up with an idea." Orihime hummed, nodding happily as she smiled at Yuki. Yuki glanced around the room as the three females around her continued speaking to one another, her mind going elsewhere as she blocked out their voices. She caught sight of a male student sitting in the desk in front of Orihime and from what she could tell, he seemed to be calmly working on something. Curiosity got the best of her and she found herself behind him, quietly peeking over his shoulder to see that he was knitting something. However, she didn't go unnoticed by him.

"What do you want?" the male asked, irritation clear in his tone. He didn't bother turning around to look at her as he continued with his needlework, only a little less calmly. He had straight, chin-length black hair that framed both sides of his face, his eyes were dark blue, his skin was fair, and he wore the respective uniform along with its tie. Additionally, he was wearing squared white framed glasses. Fifteen year old Uryū Ishida did not want to be bothered.

Yuki jumped slightly, startled because she didn't think she'd be caught staring. She walked around his desk, standing in front of it. She twiddled her thumbs as she looked down towards her feet. "I'm sorry. I only wanted to see what you were doing." She bowed like she did with Orihime and, thankfully, she have given herself some room before doing so or she definitely would've banged her head against his. "Please forgive my disturbance." She leaned back up and she stared at the cloth in Uryū's hands. She looked at him and smiled kindly, even though he still wasn't looking at her. "It looks lovely."

"Thank you," he responded flatly, not even sending a glance her way. "Would you please go away so I can work in peace?" He really didn't want anyone bothering him. He just wanted to continue his needlework in peace. He didn't talk to others often to begin with anyways.

Yuki nodded, respecting his wishes. "Okay. Have a great day, Uryū." She walked around his desk, heading back to her own. She still had her smile on her face, his cold attitude not bothering her in the slightest. "What a weird guy. Maybe he needs a friend. He's always keeping to himself," she mumbled to herself. "Hmm, kind of how I am sometimes but I'm not rude when someone speaks to me." She continued speaking quietly to herself. She sat down in her seat. "Ooh, I know. I'll just say something to him everyday so that he'll get use to me and then, he'll let me talk to him more." She wanted to be friends with Uryū. He seemed rather lonely to her.

"What are you scheming, little sister?" Sayuri asked, leaning over Yuki's shoulder. She nodded towards Uryū. "I saw you making conversation with that guy over there." She smirked a little. "Does my little baby twin have a crush~?" she teased as she asked the question out of curiosity. "What's his name? I wanna know!" She didn't give Yuki any time to answer. "You do like him! I knew it! Tell me his name already! The names of your future babies are at stake here!" She sure had her moments where she went from slightly mature to completely the opposite.

Yuki laughed and shook her head, turning her head to look at Sayuri for a moment. "No, no. I don't like anyone at all. I am just planning on becoming Uryū's friend at a very slow pace. Maybe then, he won't be as cold hearted." She looked towards where Uryū sat. "Doesn't he look lonely to you? He does to me."

Sayuri looked at Uryū and eyed him for a moment before looking at Yuki. "A little bit, yeah. That's sweet of you to wanna be his friend. Just don't push him to the limit." She lightly pat Yuki's shoulder. She seemed to be a little disappointed to hear that Yuki didn't have a crush on anyone. She tried to push the matter, trying to see if she could make Yuki flush or, in other words, blush. "Does he have a last name? Are you sure you don't like him? He's really handsome for a guy with glasses~ You'd make wonderful babies together~ He could end up being your husband one day, you know~ You never know what could happen~"

Yuki only laughed more, much to Sayuri's disappointment. Again. Yuki began responding to everything that Sayuri had said, looking at her once again as she responded. "Ishida is his last name, Sayu. I'm very sure I don't like him or anyone else in that way. I agree that he is handsome. I don't wanna know why you're thinking about baby making at such an early time. And yes, I do know it is a possibility because we never know what the future will bring but for now, I simply wish to be his friend and I'm very certain that I know whom he actually likes or whom he may come to like and that would be Orihime, which is or would be adorable." She grinned with her eyes closed as she turned her head back forward and she kicked her feet while tilting her head from side to side. "Anything else you'd like for me to respond to, Sayu?"

Sayuri stared at her in surprise. "I didn't expect you to answer like that. You are normally so innocent minded. That answer was...both innocent and intelligent with a hint of normal. I'm impressed." She pat Yuki's shoulder again. "You will never cease to amaze or amuse me, my dear Yuki." A flash of orange and red crossed her eyesight, causing her to look up as Hana and Ichigo walked by the front of Yuki's desk. Her jaw dropped as she saw that they were hand in hand. She roughly shook Yuki's arms and pointed towards the two, excitement suddenly feeling her being. "You see that, too, right?!" she hushedly but excitedly asked Yuki.

"Hmm?" Yuki opened her eyes and glanced around until she caught sight of her two best-friends. She was quick to notice that the two were holding each other's hand. She half-smiled. "I don't think it is what you think it means, Sayu. Yes, it is the first time I've ever seen them hold hands but I think it's for a whole different reason, a reason that I cannot tell you because it is not for me to tell. All I can really say is that I think they just need each other right now."

Sayu sighed in disappointment. "Boo. I was really hoping they had gotten together." She huffed. "Well, whatever it is they are going through, I'm glad they have each other." She crossed her arms. "Come to think of it. You are acting a little different, too." Yuki blinked and turned her head to look up at Sayuri again. "Well, you aren't acting as innocent as you usually are. You are more normal-ish and kind of a bit more intelligent than you have been about certain things. It's just really weird because I'm use to the whole completely innocent thing." She let out a gasp. "Maybe you've been pretending this whole time. You naughty little girl."

Yuki frowned and shook her head. "My ways have never been an act, Sayu. I am who I am. I don't know many things but I know of other subjects. I can speak passionately about one thing but be completely and utterly cheerful about something else entirely different. I can be happy and excited but then, I can be fearful and sad. Depending on the things I speak about or witness, I will react in different ways. It's just how I am. I am not sorry about that. I like who I am."

"I see... Well, I'm sorry for upsetting you." Sayuri wrapped her arms around Yuki, frowning a little bit. "I just thought that something was effecting how you are, just like it is effecting those two lovebirds. I guess I was wrong." She kissed Yuki's head. She couldn't help but feel that Yuki was being effected by something and she wanted to know what it was. She wasn't going to push the matter any further, though. She didn't want to make things worse.

Yuki started smiling again. "It's okay, Sayu. You were only just worried about me. All siblings worry." She started poking Sayuri. "So, do you have a crush on anyone? You were pressing that matter very hard earlier with me so I can only assume that you do have one of your own." She smiled wider as Sayuri began to blush. "I'm right, aren't I? Yay! Who's your crush? Is it someone from the Soul Society?" She quickly face-palmed, shaking her head. "Silly Yuki-Chan. Of course she does. She hasn't been here too long to have developed a crush on anyone," she mumbled to herself. If around a month was considered not long. She giggled a little bit afterwards.

"I... Well..." Sayuri continued to blush as she began to twiddle her thumbs. "Yes, he is in the Soul Society. And he is much, much, much, much, much older than me." She blushed more as she shifted on her feet, aware of her younger twin's gaze as she glanced around at everything but Yuki. "He is... Well, I think he is about... Um... Maybe a little or more... He's over a thousand years old." Yuki stared at her with wide eyes. Sayuri shook her hands quickly like she was trying to shake away any thoughts Yuki was having as she looked back towards Yuki. "Don't go imagining an old man! He looks more like he's in his late thirties to early forties. And he's really, really kind. Handsome. Fantastic." She sighed happily as she unconsciously started to twist her body.

Yuki started giggling again. "Awww, Sayu is in love. That's so adorable, Sayu. I'm glad you have found someone. I'm sure he loves or will love you back. Who wouldn't love you? You are really nice and smart! You told me about things that I hadn't known before! And you are really, really pretty! He'd be a lucky man, whomever he is!"

Sayuri smiled, still blushing some. "Thanks, Yuki." She glanced over towards where Hana and Ichigo stood, watching how they were. The two of them appeared to be in good moods and no one in the room seemed to be questioning why the two were holding hands, from what she could tell. She could tell, however, that the two were acting much more differently than they normally did but no one else seemed to notice, again from what she could tell. "Will those two be okay?" she asked Yuki, worried about her new friends.

Yuki looked towards Hana and Ichigo. "Yes. In the end, they always go back to being okay." She stared at the two for a moment before she looked away, a frown reappearing on her face. "You probably shouldn't bother them too much tomorrow," she warned Sayuri softly. "It's a big day for them, you see. I'm sure that they'll explain it to you tonight." She shook her head and started smiling again. "But anyways, don't worry so much about them. They'll be okay in the end, you'll see." She started kicking her feet again, having stopped earlier when she got a little sad. "I wonder if Orihime would like to bake cookies tonight. Ooh and maybe we could make some cheesecake from scratch! Yum!" She wasn't going to bother Hana and Ichigo herself, planning to just hang out with Tatsuki and Orihime that night, along with the next day. Sayuri didn't say anything in response as she silently continued to stare at Hana and Ichigo...

* * *

The remainder of the day went by in a flash and nightfall soon arrived. Within the Kurosaki household, the Kurosaki family and Hana were sitting together at a table. They were discussing their plans for the following day, the death anniversary date of three loved ones. "I put up a sign saying 'We'll be closed tomorrow. We apologize for any loss of life our absence might cause.' Time for our meeting. First order is to go over everyone's jobs for tomorrow and as chairman, I have final say in all decisions," Isshin stated loudly. Hana only glanced in his direction before looking back at the ceiling as she leaned against her chair, Ichigo had his arms crossed and his eyes were focused more on the wall to his right than his father, Yuzu had a small grin on her face as she stared at her father, and Karin glared at her father.

Karin stood up as she continued to glare at Isshin. "As if. What kind of a meeting is this and who made you chairman?" Her palms were pressed against the table. She wasn't, by any means necessary, amused. She was far from it.

Isshin pointed at her. "Hey, hey. You must raise your hand if you wish to speak, Chief of Staff," he slightly complained.

Karin's glare vanished as she began to blush lightly. She lifted her right hand to her face and pointed at herself. "Hold on. I'm Chief of Staff?" She was very happy with that title, very happy indeed. In fact, it kind of made her glow. She wasn't too upset about it, quite liking that title.

Isshin pointed at Yuzu. "Yuzu, you have been appointed to be secretary of lunch." Basically, her job was to make the food that they would be eating the following day while they were out.

Yuzu saluted. "Aye aye, chairman." She wasn't against that because she always made their food anyways.

Isshin pointed at Karin again. "Karin, you will load our packs."

"I thought I was Chief of Staff," Karin stated, glaring at Isshin once again as her right hand slammed against the table. Her bubble had been burst. Her happiness had been shattered to pieces. Her love for her title had flown away along with said title.

"Did I say Chief of Staff? I meant Chief of Stuff," Isshin told her.

As Isshin and Karin began to fuss with one another, Ichigo looked towards them and grinned a little as he uncrossed his arms. He glanced to his right and he stared at Hana, whom was sitting closest to him while Yuzu was sitting a little further down. Hana's eyes were still on the ceiling and to lighten the mood a little, Ichigo made a joke of sorts. "I don't think the ceiling is going to do anything interesting any time soon," he told her, still grinning slightly.

Hana crackled a smile as she turned her gaze towards Ichigo. "Yeah, you're probably right. Maybe I should stare at something more interesting. Or someone." She stared at him, smiling a little more. Unbeknownst to her, she was kind of flirting with him and if she had known, she probably wouldn't care because it was a nice distraction from everything.

Ichigo blushed the tiniest bit as he crossed his arms again while looking away from her. "I'm not that interesting, Hana." Thankfully, Isshin was too busy fussing with Karin to notice that his son was blushing and speaking to Hana. Otherwise, there would be an even bigger fuss.

"You're wrong," Hana gently stated, making Ichigo look back at her. "You are very interesting. You always have been and you continue to be so. You're..." She continued to smile. "You're very special, Ichigo." She looked over at Isshin and Karin, seeing that the two of them were still fussing. She shook her head slightly as she kept smiling and she stood up, heading to Ichigo's bedroom without a word. As soon as she was out of sight, Isshin called the meeting to an end and ordered everyone to bed so Ichigo was soon following behind Hana, making a pit-stop at the bathroom on his way to his bedroom.

Ichigo entered his bedroom to find that Hana was laying on the floor at the end of his bed, her eyes locked on the ceiling with her arms folded behind her head. She had gotten comfortable very quickly and she had hardly been in the room. Ichigo approached his bed and stretched before placing a towel over his head, having gotten it from the bathroom before he went to his room. He headed the closet door opening behind him and soon heard Rukia speak up. "That sounded like fun," she commented.

Ichigo turned around to look at her. "What do you mean?" he asked. He took notice of the fact that Rukia was wearing his sister's pajamas again and that she was standing in front of the closet. Sitting behind her within the closet was Sayuri and her pajamas happened to be some of Hana's extra clothes that she left there but Hana didn't complain about it ever so Sayuri assumed she was fine with it.

Rukia placed her hands on her hips. "I'm talking about that family meeting you and Hana had with your dad." She suddenly shifted as she grinned, striking a very weird pose. "So, instead of going to school tomorrow, you're having a family picnic, huh? That sounds nice."

"Picnic?" Kon questioned. He poked his head out from behind Sayuri's shoulder and he climbed over her, landing on her lap. "What time should I be ready to go?"

"A picnic?" Sayuri questioned, tilting her head slightly. " _That can't be why he and Hana have been acting so weird. Same goes for Yuki. The way she stated things, a picnic is nothing to be all weird about. In fact, that really isn't why those three have been so weird today. There's something more to this, I know it."_

"Rukia, Sayuri. Listen." Ichigo turned away from them as he spoke. "I know I have serious responsibilities as a Soul Reaper but I was wondering if I could maybe take tomorrow off?" He didn't have to speak for Hana. After she had helped with Shrieker, Hana didn't really help out much with Soul Reaper duties after that and she had made it clear to Rukia, and Sayuri, that she would only help in dire situations or if she felt that it was necessary for her to help out. No such thing had occurred again yet.

Sayuri blinked, surprised. "Huh? A day off?"

"What? Did you just ask me for a day off?" Rukia questioned. She raised her voice slightly out of anger. "Are you crazy? There is no way. You act strange all day and now you spring this on me? What are you thinking?" She glanced towards Hana when she heard her sigh and she noticed the frown on her face. "Hmm?" she wondered as she lowered her tone.

"It's the anniversary," Ichigo stated as he removed the towel from his head and held it in his right hand. He clenched onto it tightly. "The anniversary of my mom's death," he continued after a few seconds. He didn't mention that it was also the anniversary of the deaths of Hana's parents. Rukia looked back at him, her eyes widening a bit. "Well, actually, it's not just the day she died." He turned towards her again. "It's when she was killed." He didn't want to go into details about it.

"Oh..." Rukia didn't know what to say. She felt a little bad about her outburst and wasn't sure if she should apologize for it or not. She really didn't know what to do about this.

"But... I don't understand. How is this effecting Hana, too?" Sayuri asked gently. Ichigo glanced behind Rukia to look at Sayuri before he turned his head and looked down towards where Hana laid. It wasn't his call to reveal such a thing.

Hana let out another sigh as she closed her eyes. "...My parents. Their death anniversary is tomorrow..." Rukia and Sayuri were aware that Hana had lost her parents. Sayuri had heard Hana speak of being raised by Urahara along with Yuki when Sayuri reunited with Yuki and she had informed Rukia of that matter. However, neither of them had thought her parent's death anniversary to be the reason why she was acting differently like Ichigo.

"...Oh... I'm sorry..." Sayuri hesitated to state, frowning. She should've realized that without having to ask. "Rukia, come on... Let's let them sleep..." She scooted over to create some room for Rukia and Rukia turned towards the closet, entering it without saying a word and she closed the door behind her. Ichigo laid down on his bed without speaking and he began to attempt to sleep while Hana remained wide awake on the floor, her eyes reopening.

Many minutes passed and Hana heard Ichigo shuffling in his bed. She slowly sat up and looked towards him. He was laying on his back with a towel over his face and his arms were spread out. He suddenly shifted onto his left side and he mumbled as he clenched onto the towel that still covered his head. "No, don't go." He gritted his teeth as he recalled the painful memory. " _I'll never forget seeing my mother lying dead. She died because of me."_ He didn't notice nor hear Hana as she stood up from the floor and walked over to the side of his bed. He did, however, notice when she moved his blanket and when she laid down beside him. He moved the towel from his eyes as he felt Hana's left arm wrap around him and, additionally, he felt her head pressing against his clothed chest. "Hana...?" he whispered as he glanced down at her.

"...I couldn't sleep and I heard you moving around... So, I thought that just this once, we could sleep together... And hope that we can get some sleep," she whispered. "...And maybe... Just maybe I didn't want you to sleep alone in bed tonight... Not while we're both going through the same thing... We both need this, I think..." Her voice crackled as she spoke her last two sentences for the night, her eyes beginning to water and she closed them.

Ichigo wrapped his right arm around her slowly and gently rubbed her back for a moment. "...Thank you..." he whispered to her. He closed his eyes and though it was hard keeping the bad memories away, having Hana by his side brought some good memories to ease his pain. And for Hana, it was the same way. And together, they both managed to get a little bit of rest that night...

* * *

 _I had nearly forgotten that the date skips around in the series. Jeez. Thankfully, I had thought about looking up a Bleach timeline that gives me an idea of what day its around during certain events. Oh, by the way, yes. When I said there will be many books, that meant that I will be doing the filter seasons and the movies along with the seasons that actually follow the timeline. For the books that I make for the filters, they do not exactly matter since they are non-canon but there will be some moments within them that will matter and those moments will be original, and may even be a bit important. But you don't need to worry about that confusion for a long time._ _And hopefully by then, I can think of a way to make all that shit less confusing before it occurs._

 _So, guess what? It won't just be this month of me updating this story and there won't be a long wait for more updates. I decided that while I am still going to focus on my other fanfics a month at a time like I did with this one, I will still work on this fanfic also, along with my book (which will be available for purchase online once I finish it). Will updates be slow after this month? Yes, most definitely but at least it won't be a several month long wait. I will work on this only on weekends for the following four months (after this month) and that doesn't necessarily mean I will be updating every weekend because it might take me a few weekends to finish one chapter (because I like looking through to make sure everything is in order and I like adding in stuff to make it better). Let's hope this plan works out! :) Love ya!_

 **Word Count: 9,528**


	10. Chapter 9: June 17th

_**Warnings: Errors in Grammar, Spelling, Etc. Out-Of-Character Moments. This Fanfiction Series Contains Original Characters. This Fanfiction Series Follows The English Dub Anime (Like All of My Fanfictions Do). This Fanifiction Series Contains Original Ideas, Some Meant to be Explained in the Far Future. Don't Like That, Don't Complain About It and Just Simply Don't Read It. :) It's As Simple As That. Please, Do Enjoy! You Have Been Warned. Oh and Some Scenes Have Been Left Out Along with Some Dialogue, and Some Dialogue From the Anime Has Been Reworded Along with Some Scenes Have Been Changed by the Slightest.**_

 _ **Follows only Episode 8 and not all of episode 8 is shown in this chapter, and the ending-ish of it will be at the beginning of the next chapter.**_ _ **Originally, I wanted to combine episode 8 and 9 but that was putting too much stress on me whenever I was working on this so the next chapter will be of episode 9 (and the ending of episode 8). I apologize for it taking me a week (or so) to create this chapter but like I just stated, this chapter originally was going to contain two episodes and I was stressed out to the point where I only made a paragraph or five every other day and sometimes not at all.**_

 _ **Please, do enjoy reading and I will be seeing you soon enough, my darlings. Bye for now!**_ _ **I'm updating this fanfic on weekends from now on but not every weekend, more like every few weekends or something! So, patience!**_

* * *

June Seventeenth had finally arrived. The sky was a beautiful light blue as Hana and the Kurosaki family trailed up a hill towards the graveyard. Hana was walking alongside Ichigo, Isshin just a few steps in front of them. Walking ahead of the three of them were Karin and Yuzu, Karin being the furthest up the hill than the rest of them while Hana and Ichigo were the furthest down the hill. Out of the five of them, only Isshin and Yuzu were carrying a bag but Hana did have a half-empty bottle of water in her right hand. Altogether, they were dressed in casual clothing (example: t-shirts, jeans, not-so-formal shoes, sundress, etc).

Hana took another sip at her water as she listened to the birds that chirped around them. " _Today is going to be one long day..._ " she thought. She really hadn't be looking forward to that very day, dreading it instead. " _On the bright side, it's beautiful out here..."_ As she looked up towards the sky, she suddenly began to recall the night before and she started to blush slightly. She recalled walking up in Ichigo's arms and she noticed how close their faces were to one another. She had blushed a ton and she had pried herself out of his tight grip, accidentally waking him up in the process. After that, they had gotten ready and here they were, walking with Ichigo's father and sisters. " _...I can't believe I started blushing... That seems to be happening more often now, me getting flustered. But why...?"_ She continued to stare at the sky as she walked and the blush in her cheeks slowly faded away.

"Are you okay?" Ichigo asked her suddenly, his eyes on her. "You've been really quiet since we left the house." Truthfully, he was worried about her. He was always worried about her when this day would come, more so than usual this time around; Hana wasn't usually one to show her emotions in front of anyone and the fact that she had gotten teary eyed in front of him the previous day made him more concerned about her. It was like her feelings had gotten too intense for her to just hold them back until she was alone.

Hana looked over at him. "Oh, I'm fine. Just don't really have much to say today." She took another sip of her water before she finally put the cap back on the bottle. "I never really have much to say on this date ever if I'm honest."

"I don't blame you," Ichigo replied back as he looked away from her. "Today's... Well, today is going to be a very long day." Hana let out a very gentle giggle and Ichigo looked back at her. "What? Did I say something funny?" he asked, confused.

Hana shook her head. "No, it's just that I thought moments ago that today is going to be one long day and you said it out loud just now, only slightly reworded. I couldn't help but laugh at our similar mindset." Ichigo half grinned as he looked away from her, their conversation dying down.

Up ahead, Yuzu started to complain to Karin about the walk up the hill. "Boy, we're never going to get to the top." She had her right hand raised to her forehead, shielding her eyes from the sunlight. Behind the two of them, Isshin's eyes seemed to light up in anticipation. Hana and Ichigo were still walking behind him, Ichigo placing his hands in his pants pockets.

"Speak for yourself. This hill's no problem. And please, don't let Dad hear you say that," Karin responded.

However, it was far too late for that warning because their father had already overheard. Isshin began doing a handstand and with him doing so, Hana and Ichigo both paused their walking to stare at him. "You can do it, Yuzu! Hang in there!" Karin and Yuzu stopped walking to look towards their father, both of them sweat-dropping at the sight of him doing a handstand. "You see?! Dad's on your side!"

"Never in this lifetime did I think I'd ever witness him doing a handstand," Hana lowly remarked to Ichigo. "Although, I wouldn't be surprised if he suddenly just throws out his back and complains about it being someone, or something, else's fought for causing it." Ichigo hmphed, nodding.

"Now you did it," Karin complained. "Just ignore him or else he'll never stop." She turned back around and continued up the hill. "Giving guys like him attention only encourages them." She was speaking loud enough for not only Yuzu to hear her but for Hana, Ichigo, and Isshin to hear her as well.

Isshin narrowed his eyes slightly as his eyes lit up in anticipation again. "You're wrong about that. I'm automatically encouraged, even if you ignore me!" He suddenly took off up the hill while remaining in a handstand. As he went up, he suddenly began sliding and as he slide past Yuzu, Yuzu was forced to hold down her dress to protect her modesty. "Father Slide Attack says this way to the top!" Isshin exclaimed as he slide towards Karin.

"And daughter says," Karin started. She turned and kicked him in the head with her right leg, sending him rolling back down the hill. "Go back to the bottom!" Isshin shouted as he rolled down the hill. Ichigo pulled Hana out of the way as Isshin rolled all the way back down the hill and out of sight. "Now we can walk in peace for a while," Karin stated to Hana, Ichigo, and Yuzu before she started walking up the hill again with Yuzu right behind her. Hana and Ichigo slowly followed behind them again.

"Phew, man, it's hot," Ichigo stated as he shielded his eyes from the sun while pausing his walking momentarily. He was sweating a little. "Even for the middle of June, this kind of heat's a little unusual." He suddenly felt something wet going down his face and it took him a second to realize what happened. Hana had dumped the rest of her water on his head. "What the hell, Hana?!" he exclaimed as he looked at her. "What was that for?!"

Hana smirked as she stood beside him. "Hey, you were the one openly complaining about how hot it is. So, I decided to help you cool off for a bit. You're fucking welcome, man." She walked past him and he yanked her back towards him, wrapping his arms around her. "Whoa! Hey! What gives?!" She squealed as Ichigo shook the water out of his hair, the water getting on her. "Hey!" She started laughing. "Stop it! Gosh, you're like a dog!" Ichigo smiled a little and he released her from his grasp, his revenge complete. "Jerk." Ichigo immaturely stuck his tongue out at her. Hana turned her head towards him and she smiled, shaking her head at him before she looked away again. She was about to take a step further up the hill but Karin's words made her pause.

"Someone's up there already," Karin stated. She stared up ahead towards the tip of the hill.

"Wow, they had to climb up there pretty early to beat us to the top," Yuzu stated. Behind Karin and Yuzu, Ichigo was freaking out while Hana blinked in surprise as they all stared at Rukia and Sayuri. Rukia was wearing a light creamed colored dress with a matching hat, the hat in which she took off as she waved it, and her hand, at Hana and Ichigo, a big smile on her face and secured to her back was a backpack. Sayuri was wearing a light pink colored dress and she waved shortly at the two before rubbing the back of her head, a nervous smile appearing on her face. Yuzu turned her head towards Hana and Ichigo whom remained behind her and Karin. She pointed towards Rukia and Sayuri. "They're waving like they know the two of you."

"Ummm... Well..." Hana hesitated, still surprised that Rukia and Sayuri were there. Why were they there? Are they stupid? Hana thought that it was made clear that she and Ichigo didn't want to have to deal with any Soul Reaper business, not that Hana had much to do with that anyways.

"Nope! No way! Nope, nope! Never seen them in my life!" Ichigo frantically shook his head. "Neither of us have!"

Karin lifted her right hand to her chin. "There is something familiar about her. I wonder if I've seen her somewhere before."

Ichigo stopped shaking his head and he slapped his right hand against his forehead as he threw his head back. "No! Don't say that!" He suddenly struck a pose and pointed towards the two Soul Reapers that waited at the top of the hill. "Hey, I just remembered! I think we do know them!" Hana looked towards him and instantly covered her mouth to prevent from laughing her ass off as Ichigo started doing weird movements. "In fact, they are from our class back in middle school! Maybe we should go talk to her or something, Hana!" Ichigo continued, grabbing onto Hana's arm. "We'll go and have a little chat with her, and you two go on ahead to Mom's grave without us, okay?" He dragged Hana up the hill with him as Hana finally started laughing out loud, no longer able to hold it. "Gah!" Ichigo sped up, dragging Hana more forcefully and he also managed to grab ahold of both the Soul Reapers before running out of sight with them...

* * *

"What are you two doing following us here?" Ichigo asked as he stood in the middle of a forest path with Hana to his left. Rukia and Sayuri were standing right in front of them, a large amount of space between them. The two of them shouldn't be there, not with it being what date it was. That day was certainly not the kind of day to be dealing with any kind of bullshit.

Rukia had her arms crossed. "Isn't it obvious? We're here in case a Hollow shows up." That was a very good reason for them to be there.

Sayuri placed her hands on her hips, slightly glaring at Ichigo. "We're not stupid enough to just allow you to come here with your family, and Hana, and risk all of you being attacked. So, here we are. Your fellow protectors on this fine day. You're welcome, Strawberry." She understood that the date was very...special, in a way, for the two but she and Rukia couldn't just risk them being attacked.

"Way to keep a low profile in front of my family," Ichigo remarked sarcastically, showing that he was annoyed. "Why were you waving at us like that?"

"I suppose I could have been a bit more discreet," Rukia admitted. "I just didn't think of it." Her mind was on other things. Normally, she would've thought that through more carefully.

"Yeah. No kidding," Hana commented, crossing her arms as she narrowed her eyes at Rukia. She felt that something was wrong, she just wasn't sure what it was. But something was definitely wrong. Or, at least, something was on her mind.

"So, what are you upset about?" Ichigo asked Rukia.

"Actually, I'm not upset about anything," Rukia pointed out. She looked down at the ground for a few seconds before she spoke again. "Listen, about your mother, I heard you mention that someone killed her." Hana clenched her fists, knowing that the topic was very hard for Ichigo to talk about.

"I didn't say that," Ichigo stated, his hands in his pockets.

Rukia continued speaking. "But you never said who killed her."

"Listen, just drop it, okay?" Ichigo didn't want to talk about it, especially not with her.

"Rukia," Sayuri remarked in a warning tone. "Maybe you should listen to him. Just this once." She could tell that Rukia was going to push the topic further. She hoped that Rukia would take her warning and zip her lips. However, the opposite happened.

"When I first met you, you said you'd been able to see spirits since you were very young," Rukia continued, ignoring all the warnings she was getting. She wanted to speak what was crossing her mind. "Ichigo, I need you to answer one more question. Your mother, could she have been killed by a Hollow?" She glanced towards Hana as Ichigo's eyes widened from shock at the question. "And Hana, is it possible that your parents were also killed by a Hollow?" Hana didn't look towards her. That was another thing Rukia and Sayuri didn't know: they didn't know how Hana's parents died. "Don't you think that it's possible?" Rukia asked them both. "If your spiritual capabilities were that high as a child, and with Hana being what she is, then there may have been a Hollow whom sensed you and as a result, you lost loved ones."

"Stop it!" Ichigo yelled. "Just shut up!" Rukia let out a gasp as she stared at Ichigo. Sayuri sighed lowly and shook her head, disappointed with Rukia and she looked towards Hana, frowning more than she already was when she saw that Hana was trembling. "Why does everything always have to be about Hollows with you two?" Ichigo asked, bringing Sayuri into the mess despite her not really being a part of the conversation. There was no freaking Hollow there that day, alright? There was no Hollow during the house fire that killed Hana's parents!" He tightly gripped the side of his jeans. "You'll never understand the pain and suffering I have to live with every single day. You'll never understand what Hana, and I, are going through." Ichigo started walking towards Rukia and Sayuri, walking past them as he spoke. "So, sorry to wreck your theory but all the usual suspects, like Hollows, Serial Killers, Thugs, they're not to blame. I am." He took off running, leaving the three of them behind.

"Wait, Ichigo!" Rukia yelled, calling out to him.

Sayuri sighed again. "Way to go, Rukia." She approached Hana, noticing that she hadn't moved from her place or even said a word in a while. "Hana, are you okay?" She reached out to touch her but was shocked when Hana suddenly pushed past her. Hana ran from the two of them, running after Ichigo. Hana had never been sure as to what had exactly happened to Ichigo's mother but she knew, deep down, that it hadn't been his fault and she wanted to let him know that. Sayuri looked towards Rukia, glaring at her. "Once again, way to go, Rukia."

"That...was insensitive, wasn't it?" Rukia rhetorically asked, not really wanting an answer since she knew that what she said was a bit insensitive. Sayuri answered with a nod anyways and Rukia frowned before sighing lowly. She should've just kept her mouth shut...

* * *

Ichigo stood in front of some stairs at the end of the path in the forest, his head down as he stared at the ground. His teeth and fists were clenched as he thought about his last memory of his mother. " _...When I was little, Dad told me that my name meant 'he who protects'. Up until then, I had just wanted to protect my mother and my sisters. But that day, I knew I was meant to protect that little girl, too. That's all I was trying to do. But instead, Mom died trying to protect me from going into the river. I never saw what caused it. I never saw it coming. But I knew when I looked at her, Mom was dead. That little girl was gone. I remember thinking how I was going to explain what had happened to Karin and Yuzu? We all loved Mom. She was always the center of our universe, the heart of our family. And now that heart had been cut out by me."_ Ichigo dropped to his knees, his palms against the ground and he began to sob a little loudly. He didn't think anyone was around, but he was incorrect.

Arms wrapped around his waist and Ichigo didn't dare look to see who it was that was witnessing him cry. "Please, don't cry. Don't cry, Ichigo..." Ichigo's eyes widened as tears streamed down his cheeks. That was Hana who spoke. It was Hana who had her arms around him. She was seeing him in such a vulnerable state. "It wasn't your fault... It wasn't, I know it wasn't... You were just a young boy... What happened to her wasn't your fault at all... You didn't kill her, Ichigo..." Hana sniffled and she laid her head against Ichigo's back as she remained sitting, on her knees, beside him. She didn't know what compelled her to do it but she hesitatingly revealed the true death of her parents. "...Rukia was right about a Hollow killing my parents. They weren't killed in a house fire..."

Ichigo moved quickly, turning his head towards Hana. Hana jerked her arms away from him as she quickly removed her head from his back while Ichigo was moving to sit up straight, his body still facing towards the steps ahead of him. He stared at Hana with wide teary eyes. "...What...?"

Hana slowly explained what happened. "My parents and I... We were at the park when it suddenly appeared... I didn't want to leave the park, you see, and it was getting late... If I hadn't caused us to stay there a little longer... Mom would've been able to go back and deal with the Hollow without Dad or I being there in harm's way... Dad died first. He was protecting me... Mom died next, just as quickly despite how skilled she was... And the Hollow, it just left like I was nothing and I was alone, an orphan... That's when... That's when Urahara and Yuki came... So, if it is anyone's fault for being the cause of their loved one's death, it's me... Not you, Ichigo... It wasn't your fault that your mother died... Bad shit like that always happens to good people... You didn't cause it, something else did... I'm absolutely sure of it..." She wiped her cheeks as she began to cry. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you... You hadn't known about Hollows when that story about the house fire was made up...and I should've told you sooner than now but... I'm so, so sorry, Ichigo..." She sniffled. "So, please don't cry anymore over something you had no control over..."

"Hana..." Ichigo didn't know what to say but he felt the urge to hold Hana. So, he did exactly that. He pulled her close to him, wrapping his arms around her head. He was still sobbing like Hana was but his sobbing was more silent now than it had been. He was surprised, yet not surprised by the information Hana had told him; something like that occurring in her childhood seemed more likely to him, in a way, because of whom she was born as but because of that false story he had been told some time ago, he had believed she hadn't dealt with anything like that as a kid. He wasn't mad at her for not telling him the truth before but he wasn't exactly happy about hearing the truth either. And despite what Hana told him, he still believed it was his fault his mother died... He still didn't believe that anything else had been the cause of her death... It was too hard for him to believe that when, all this time, he had been blaming himself for what happened...

"...Your hair isn't dry yet..." Hana mumbled as she pointed out that fact suddenly. Ichigo rolled his eyes and held her closer to him. For good measure, he made sure his wet head was against her dry one since it seemed to bother her so, so much right then and there. "...You meanie," she continued. Ichigo smiled a little as he heard the pout in Hana's tone and he rolled his eyes again. Even in that state, they could somewhat cheer each other up slightly by doing something they'd usually do towards one another.

The two of them remained in their position for quite some time before they pulled apart. However, neither of them made a move to stand up and they remained on their knees, on the ground across from each other. More time went by, the two remaining where they were still as they silently looked at either each other or their surroundings. Both of them had slowly calmed their tears, no longer sobbing. It wasn't long before they heard the cries of Kon coming from a hill above them. How he was coming from a hill near them (Hana's back was to the hill and Ichigo was facing towards the steps still, his back towards where he and Hana had came from) and not from where they had came from since he (Kon) had been with their Soul Reaper friends wasn't exactly known, but there was no time for questioning logic temporarily. "Ichigo, help! Hana! Emergency! Mayday! Rukia and Sayuri are in trouble! Where are you?! Ichigo! Hana!" His cries for help turned into loud panicked grunts as he lost his footing at the end of the hill's edge and he fell down onto Hana's head.

Hana let out a low sigh. "Nice landing, Kon." She pulled him off her head gently, only for Kon to be snatched out of her grasp by Ichigo. She blinked several times, ten times in total, before she shook her head, quickly realizing that some yelling was about to erupt from Ichigo. She slowly stood up, brushing off the dirt on her pants, especially dusting herself off at her knees.

"I am really not in the mood for you right now, Kon!" Ichigo exclaimed, glaring at Kon as he got off the ground, holding Kon in front of his face. Even though Kon hadn't landed on him, Ichigo was already pissed off at the poor Mod Soul.

"Rukia and Sayuri are in trouble!" Kon repeated loudly. He started whimpering as tears formed in his buttoned eyes. Ichigo hummed, staring at Kon with a scowl.

Hana took a step towards Ichigo and placed her right hand on his left shoulder. "Let's go see what kind of trouble they've gotten into at a time like this. Can't be too bad, right?" She looked at Kon. "I'll assume that the two of them are up the hill you fell from. Am I correct?" Kon nodded slightly. "Mmm. Alright. Onward we go, I suppose. Lead the way, you two." The way she spoke sounded like she was bored and irritated at the same time. That day just wasn't the kind of day to have trouble brewing...

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 _ **I apologize for any dialogue or anything being repeated. I have realized that I do make a habit of repeating stuff, mostly for emphasis but sometimes because I fuckin' forget that I've wrote it already at another time so I apologize for anything you see that you've might've seen in any of the previous chapters. Same goes for author's notes. 0-0**_

 **Word Count: 4,265**


	11. Chapter 10: Trouble's Boiling Over

**Warnings: Errors in Grammar, Spelling, Etc. Out-Of-Character Moments. This Fanfiction Series Contains Original Characters. This Fanfiction Series Follows The English Dub Anime (Like All of My Fanfictions Do). This Fanfiction Series Contains Original Ideas, Some Meant to be Explained in the Far Future. Don't Like That, Don't Complain About It and Just Simply Don't Read It. :) It's As Simple As That. Please, Do Enjoy! You Have Been Warned. Oh and Some Scenes Have Been Left Out Along with Some Dialogue, and Some Dialogue From the Anime Has Been Reworded Along with Some Scenes Have Been Changed by the Slightest.**

 **I am so terribly sorry for the long ass wait. My laptop had messed up and then my brother's laptop that I had been using messed up. But thankfully, as an early b-day gift, I got a new laptop and am able to update once again! Previously updated my new Supernatural fanfic a few weeks ago, my Last of Us fanfic, my Once Upon A Time fanfic, and now, finally updating this fanfic. Do enjoy!**

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Hana took a step towards Ichigo and placed her right hand on his left shoulder. "Let's go see what kind of trouble they've gotten into at a time like this. Can't be too bad, right?" She looked at Kon. "I'll assume that the two of them are up the hill you fell from. Am I correct?" Kon nodded slightly. "Mmm. Alright. Onward we go, I suppose. Lead the way, you two." The way she spoke sounded like she was bored and irritated at the same time. That day just wasn't the kind of day to have trouble brewing...

Hana, Ichigo, and Kon ran through the forest, heading to where Rukia and Sayuri were located. They were quick to find them but the two female Soul Reapers weren't alone. While Rukia and Sayuri stood beside one another, standing directly in front of them was a Soul Reaper, named Eikichirō Saidō, that Hana and Ichigo didn't recognize, his Zanpakutō (a wakizashi with a black hilt and gray guard) within his grasp because he had been ready to attack Rukia and Sayuri. Hana and Ichigo continued running towards their two friends.

"Rukia! Sayuri! Are you alright?!" Ichigo asked loudly, slowing to a stop near them as he sort of stood between the two female Soul Reapers and the male Soul Reaper. Hana stopped seconds afterwards, standing slightly behind Ichigo and Kon ran into Hana's leg, falling over. Hana stared at Saidō questionably, wondering why he was there. Ichigo narrowed his eyes at the newcomer. "Who are you?" Ichigo asked Saidō. "And what do you want here?"

"Well, it's spiky head and his little girlfriend," Saidō remarked, raising his right arm as he gestured slightly. Atop his head was a type of Amigasa, a straw Japanese hat, and it was covering most of his very short black hair. His dark pupils were locked mainly on Ichigo. "Am I really visible to you, lover boy?" His personality was made known right then and there, his comments making it obvious; he was a bit lecherous.

Ichigo didn't have time for games. He looked down towards Kon, watching him stand back up from having ran into Hana's leg. "Kon, who is this clown?" he asked. He figured Kon would know since he had been with Rukia and Sayuri earlier. Hana turned her attention off of Saidō momentarily, looking towards Kon as well while she remained silent for the time being.

"I don't know," Kon answered honestly. "Beats me."

"You don't know?" Hana questioned, finally speaking. She could already feel the vein popping in her head. She felt like she had been brought on a wild goose chase. For all they knew, this Soul Reaper guy was probably just having a casual conversation with Rukia and Sayuri while having out his Zanpakutō. Probably wasn't a big deal.

Ichigo became angry, turning slightly. Hana took a step back as Ichigo reached down, grabbing ahold of Kon's head and causing a squeak to come from him, considering that Kon was inside a plushie. "You brought us here in a panic," he picked Kon up completely by his head and brought him to his face, "Because you said it was an emergency, you furball!"

"Never mind about me right now," Saidō interrupted. Hana and Ichigo's attention turned back towards him. He narrowed his eyes at them, a smirk on his face. He continued speaking, mainly to Ichigo again. "Tell me about yourself, son. Just what do you do? And more importantly, what does your little girlfriend do? Every last detail would be nice." Hana made a face of disgust, sticking her tongue out slightly as she greatly disliked what the Soul Reaper was referring to when he mentioned her.

"Don't say it!" Rukia warned Ichigo. She didn't want Saidō to know of what she had done. He'd surely report the information back to the Soul Society upon his return.

"I'm a substitute Soul Reaper," Ichigo announced without hesitation as he completely ignored Rukia's warning. He didn't say a word about Hana nor did he correct Saidō's error for a second time. Hana didn't open her mouth again, not planning to say a word about herself to Saidō and she too didn't even correct Saidō for a second time. There wasn't even a point to get started on that old argument, that constantly occurred.

"Strawberry, you idiot," Sayuri commented, face-palming. " _Why didn't he just keep his mouth shut? We were trying to delay the inevitable._ "

"A Soul Reaper? Is that right?" Saidō questioned, smiling widely as he gripped his hat with his right hand. "I'm still waiting for the punchline, 'cause that has to be a joke." He entirely ignored that his other question had been ignored, entirely interested in the situation completely at this point. He looked towards Rukia and Sayuri. "Oh, Ladies, that's a big mistake. What the two of you have done is considered a serious crime." He was assuming that Hana was a substitute Soul Reaper as well, meaning he believed that Sayuri had transferred her powers like Rukia had.

Ichigo became confused and surprised. "What crime? What's he saying?" He was still holding onto Kon's head as he looked towards the female Soul Reapers and Kon looked about as confused and surprised as Ichigo. Hana, on the other hand, didn't seem all that confused or surprised, figuring that the Soul Society had strict rules.

Hana looked over at Rukia and Sayuri. "Does trouble usually follow you two around?" She was curious. Her life had definitely became more interesting since the two of them entered it. And she had noticed that Yuki had became much happier once Sayuri had reentered her life, regardless of how unsafe she had became in the process.

"Occasionally," Sayuri admitted. She wasn't going to deny it. Being completely submissive just wasn't her character at all. Rukia, on the other hand, was more submissive but even then, she still had trouble find her as well.

Saidō interrupted the conversation, his eyes closed and his head facing down towards the ground. "Maybe it's better. It'll be more fun to kill Soul Reaper impostors than just dumb Gigais." He ripped his hat off, tossing it into the air. "Let's do it!"

Ichigo and Kon both looked like they were freaking out while Hana's eyes had widened. "Do what?!" Ichigo exclaimed. Saidō began to charge at the three of them, his Zanpakutō raised over his head as he shouted. Hana and Ichigo both jumped opposite ways of each other as Saidō swung his Zanpakutō down. Going after Ichigo first, he swung his Zanpakutō horizontally and Ichigo dodged the swing again but only barely. As Saidō suddenly started going after Hana while swinging his Zanpakutō constantly at her but missing her each time because she was dodging his attacks, Ichigo looked down at Kon whom remained in his grasp. "Cough it up now!" Kon looked up at him in surprise as Ichigo suddenly shoved his hand into Kon's mouth, grabbing onto the pill and pulling it out of the plush toy, tossing it into his mouth quickly.

"Stay still!" Saidō yelled at Hana as he continued on attacking her.

"Kiss my ass!" Hana yelled back at him, dodging him continuously. She wasn't certain why Sayuri hadn't, at least, jumped in by this point. She still had her powers fully, after all. And she wasn't certain why Rukia hadn't jumped in to help her leave her body to allow her to fight the bastard herself but perhaps that wasn't the smartest idea since it was risky, her body possibly becoming damaged or Rukia getting killed in the process. But still, she would had thought that Rukia would be able to get Sayuri out of her Gigai with Saidō so distracted.

As it appeared like Saidō would finally slash Hana, his Zanpakutō clashed with Ichigo's and he jumped back, a bit surprised but he shook it off. "Not bad. You're human and yet, you were able to transform and just in time to save the day." Ichigo stood protectively in front of Hana, glaring at Saidō. "I'm interested in knowing how you got that ability," Saidō continued.

"I don't give explanations to anyone who attacks me or my friends," Ichigo told him.

"Ruki-" Hana started, turning her head towards her friend. Her eyes widened as she felt Sayuri's gloved hand connecting with her forehead and she felt herself be pushed out of her body without having to state that it was what she had wanted in the first place, not exactly wanting to be protected by Ichigo the whole time. She was surprised, however, that it had been Sayuri who had done it and not Rukia. "About time," Hana stated as she looked down at her Soul Reaper attire. She looked back up and stepped forward to stand beside Ichigo, taking a stance with him. "Now, it's two against one." She glared at Saidō. "Still so sure that you want to do this? Because you will certainly lose."

Saidō smirked, seeming to not care all that much about his slight disadvantage. "So, you can do that, too. I really didn't think you were capable of such a thing. But don't think you'll defeat me so easily. I've been doing this a lot longer than the two of you." Hana growled a little under her breath and she unsheathe her Zanpakutō, revealing its odd red blade. Saidō's smirk widened. "Well, if this isn't a wonderful discovery. Your Zanpakutō blade is of a different color, much like Sayuri's. On second thought, why don't I just take you back with me and have you sent for experimentation? Unlike Miss Hirai, you won't have a Captain to protect you from Captain Kurotsuchi."

Ichigo let out a growl of anger this time, only it was much louder than Hana's had been. "No one will lay a finger on her! I won't allow it!" He gripped the handle of his Zanpakutō tighter. Hana glanced towards Ichigo, her gaze softening before it hardened again as she looked back towards Saidō.

Rukia ran past Kon, who was sitting on the ground inside Ichigo's body, and she got in between the fight. "Wait, just stay out of this!" She stared at Hana and Ichigo. Behind the two of them was Sayuri and she was gently positioning Hana's body against a tree. "It's my battle, not yours!" Rukia continued, still speaking in exclamation. Behind her, Saidō wondered why Rukia referred to just herself and not also Sayuri.

Ichigo stepped forward, taking a hand off his Zanpakutō as he slightly pushed Rukia out of his way. "What can you do? You don't have your sword." All Rukia would had done was get herself gravely injured.

"And we're just as much in this mess as you are," Hana stated to Rukia. "He did just try to kill us," she pointed out. "So, it isn't just your battle. It's ours, too." She followed behind Ichigo, moving past Rukia. "Now, let's just get all of this over with." She glared at Saidō and pointed her Zanpakutō at him. "You chose the wrong day to bother all of us." With that, she and Ichigo both went at Saidō. Saidō continued with his smirking as his Zanpakutō collided with Ichigo's Zanpakutō again and then with Hana's Zanpakutō. Easily, Hana and Ichigo could win if they both attacked Saidō at once but they were going to fight correctly and honorably. For the most part.

Saidō attacked Hana and Ichigo skillfully, his Zanpakutō clashing with theirs constantly. He even jumped away from them to jump from a tree, getting extra momentum. His Zanpakutō collided with Ichigo's again but very quickly, he kicked Ichigo in the abdomen, knocking the breath out of him. Behind Saidō, Hana swung her Zanpakutō at him and he quickly maneuvered out of the way. His attention temporarily on Hana, Saidō attempted to kick Hana in her abdomen after clashing his Zanpakutō with hers but her reflexes were faster than Ichigo's and she grabbed his foot with her palm, causing slight injury to her hand while keeping her Zanpakutō tightly gripped in her other one. Thinking he had an advantage, Saidō attempted to slash Hana while she was occupied, meaning to harm but not kill her, but she protected herself with her Zanpakutō with ease. She may not had been very skilled when it came to actually fighting someone that was trying to kill her but her relaxes made up for it.

Hana jumped away from Saidō, feeling that she'd eventually get cut if she kept that up and she placed her free hand back on her Zanpakutō. Ichigo, having recovered from the kick he had gotten, went at Saidō once again, the two of them clashing blades together many times before Ichigo was sent flying backwards and onto his back. Distracted, Saidō began speaking to Ichigo and forgot about his second opponent. "You amateur. You're using your strength to try to cover for your weakness. But in fact, you have no tactics and no skill at all." He let out a grunt as Hana's Zanpakutō swung in front of his face and he jumped back, blood dripping down the cut on his left cheek. "Unlike your girlfriend here. While she's a bit skillful with her fast reflexes and all, she doesn't exactly have what it takes to bring someone down. And her tactic to fight while her opponent is distracted is not very honorable but it is a little decent."

"Was that meant to be an insult or a compliment?" Hana questioned, keeping her eyes on Saidō as she backed up towards where Ichigo laid. Ichigo slowly stood up as she did so.

"Take it whatever way you wanna take it, sweetheart," Saidō told her, beginning to smirk again.

"You shut your mouth," Ichigo growled, running past Hana as he swung his Zanpakutō at Saidō again, their blades clashing again and again. Hana hesitated to join in on the battle, wondering why it pissed Ichigo off so much that the Soul Reaper had kind of flirted with her. Suddenly, she let out a gasp as she sensed the presence of a Hollow, just as Rukia's pager began to beep. Hana turned her attention towards where she sensed the Hollow as Ichigo and Saidō suddenly paused their fight.

"It's a Hollow!" Rukia yelled, gaining more of Ichigo's attention. Ichigo ran over to her as Kon and Sayuri walked over to her location. "It's close and it's big," she continued, speaking more calmly. "Come look at this." Ichigo (who placed his Zanpakutō back in its sheath), Kon, Saidō (who had walked over nonchalantly), and Sayuri crowded behind Rukia, all of them looking at the pager and not noticing that Hana had suddenly left them. "The spirit energy reading is higher than usual," Rukia stated.

"Yeah, it's way out of your league," Saidō commented, his right hand on his chin as he stared at the pager. Ichigo and Kon both looked at them, both surprised to see him standing there and not attacking anymore. In fact, the two of them jumped back a bit as they stared at him, looks of horror on their faces.

Sayuri hummed in question as she looked towards the three men. "Oh, hi there," she greeted to Saidō before shaking her head. "Now is no longer the time for battling. What matters now is that we work together to deal with this Hollow." She was still within her Gigai but she was ready to exit it, now that there was a Hollow in the area. "Ichigo, your family may be in danger as of right now." Ichigo's eyes widened as he gasped. He was about to take off towards where his family was located when Sayuri continued speaking, her eyes shifting around the forest. "Hey, where's Hanako at?"

"Damn it!" Ichigo exclaimed as he started looking around for Hana frantically. "She must've gone after the Hollow alone!" He clenched his fists. "We need to move!" Not only was his family in danger but Hana was at risk of getting herself killed.

Without another word stated, Ichigo and Rukia were running through the forest, heading in the direction of Ichigo's family and Hana. Sayuri followed behind them, shortly after removing herself from her Gigai at last without any assistance. Saidō stared after them, his eyes wide as he wondered what the hell just happened. Kon stepped away from Saidō and he moved Sayuri's Gigai to the tree that Hana's body was laying against. Kon couldn't do much but he'd definitely watch over everyone's bodies and protect them the best he could manage. Without warning, Saidō was suddenly running off, following behind the others.

When Ichigo, Rukia, and Sayuri finally reached the graveyard, they both spotted Hana holding a very unconscious Yuzu in her arms and they witnessed her jumping backwards to avoid an attack from the Hollow. The Hollow, named Grand Fisher, resembled a giant hamster with bird-like hands and feet. Within the grasp of his right hand was Karin, the young girl unconscious from all the being previously stomped on and being squeezed. Ichigo jumped from where he was, landing in front of Hana and glaring at Grand Fisher. Sayuri jumped to their side next, gesturing for Hana to take Yuzu elsewhere. In a flash, Hana was gone with Yuzu and, then, was suddenly back without her a few moments later, having left Yuzu in the care of Kon.

As Rukia got to where Hana, Ichigo, and Sayuri stood, Saidō jumped down to where they all were, having finally caught up to them. He stared at Grand Fisher. "Whoa. Now, that's an ugly one," he commented. In response, Grand Fisher laughed evilly as what appeared to be a young girl was suddenly in front of him, her soulless purple eyes staring at all of the Soul Reapers.

Ichigo released a gasp as he immediately recognizing the girl, his eyes wide. "It's not possible." As Grand Fisher continued to laugh, Ichigo's eyes narrowed. "It's her. It's the girl I saw that day six years ago, the one down by the river." The girl he saw shortly before his mother had died.

Sayuri turned her attention towards Ichigo. "Say what now?" She and Hana were standing on either side of Ichigo. Hana had her attention towards him as well, her eyes wide as she had never heard the full story of what had happened to Ichigo's mother.

"Six years ago?" Rukia questioned. "Ichigo, do you mean...?" She and Saidō were standing behind him.

"That's right," Ichigo answered, his eyes still on the girl. "She's the one. I tried to stop her from jumping into the river, but when I finally came to, she disappeared. And my mother... She was dead." He clenched his teeth as he pulled out his Zanpakutō again. However, he didn't make a move to attack Grand Fisher.

"Six years ago?" Grand Fisher questioned, his voice very deep. In fact, his voice was coming from the little girl that stood in front of him. "That's a long time. There had been so many. You can't expect me to remember every one of the souls I've eaten, now can you?" He laughed again as the girl slowly began to transform into a lure while everyone, apart from Ichigo who stared at the girl with wide eyes, glared at him. As the girl transformed into the lure, a tentacle-like limb escaped the opening in her head and suddenly, the girl no longer remained on the ground and no longer remained a girl. The lure, now resembling half of the girl and half of red feather, was reconnected to Grand Fisher's forehead, it previously having had been cut off temporarily by Hana. Karin remained in his right hand, still unconscious.

"It's Grand Fisher," Rukia began to explain. "That's the code name we've given him. He keeps himself invisible and disguises the lure growing out of his head as a human. Anyone who sees the lure he knows has high spirit energy and immediately attacks, and devours them, thus gaining all of their power. For over fifty years, this Hollow has evaded every Soul Reaper that's gone after him. And we know his favorite victims are women." Hana and Sayuri were both frowning, both not having known this information (Sayuri definitely didn't know everything that other Soul Reapers knew).

Ichigo glanced back towards where Rukia stood. "So, does that mean my mother was actually killed by...?" Rukia closed her eyes and lowered her head, not saying another word. Ichigo looked back towards Grand Fisher and gritted his teeth as he grunted, glaring at the Hollow.

Grand Fisher was laughing manically again. "Impressive. You have been lucky, little boy. You saw my lure and yet you lived. Perhaps it was my intention to eat you on the spot for your spirit energy, but there's something about the women. They're just too sweet and lovely for me to pass up." He began laughing manically once more.

"Bastard," Rukia remarked, glaring at Grand Fisher.

"That's agreeable," Hana commented, glaring at Grand Fisher as well. She hated this. She hated it all. Like she had lost her parents to a Hollow, Ichigo had lost his mother to one. From the beginning, neither one of them had been safe from the world that revolved around them. From the beginning, it was like they were destined to never have peace, _true_ peace.

"That's the most disgusting Hollow I've seen in a long time," Saidō commented. Though, his comment was exactly necessary in that moment. But, hey, lucky for them, Grand Fisher seemed to enjoy monologuing and staying put when he definitely shouldn't be staying put (and the Soul Reapers definitely shouldn't be staying put as well, yet they were and they were wasting precious time).

"You said it," Sayuri commented, agreeing with him. " _And I'm sure I'll eventually see worse than this one._ "

Without warning, Ichigo suddenly let out a shout and he ran forward, jumping into the air as he raised his Zanpakutō, attempting to strike Grand Fisher. "Karin!" he shouted as he grew closer to Grand Fisher. Instead of landing a hit, his Zanpakutō blade struck the ground as Grand Fisher dodged the attack. Ignoring the warnings from his friends that he was being reckless and that he would just get himself killed, Ichigo went at Grand Fisher again and missed once more. Grand Fisher attempted to grab Ichigo but Ichigo jumped onto a brick wall nearby. Grand Fisher, very suddenly, appeared in the area and his body spread apart, wrapping Ichigo in what suddenly appeared to be tentacles before the body reformed around Ichigo.

"Ichigo!" Hana exclaimed. She made a move to start helping him but was held back by Sayuri. "Let me go! He needs help!" She didn't want Ichigo to do this alone. She felt like she had hesitated when he had gone to fight the Hollow himself. She felt like she needed to help him. She felt like she would lose him.

"If you attack Grand Fisher in the current state that you're in, you'll just get trapped as well," Sayuri stated. "I hate this as much as you do but we can't just attack without thinking first." Hana growled and she stared at where the Hollow was holding Ichigo. Sayuri frowned and released her hold on Hana, looking towards Grand Fisher and Ichigo as well. " _What the hell are we going to do?_ "

Ichigo grunted as he struggled to get free, located in Grand Fisher's arm. "I knew you were ugly, but up close, you smell worse," he remarked.

Rukia began to draw symbols in the air before she began to chant, her hands together in front of her and a few fingers crossed. "Disintegrate, you black dog of Rondanini! Look upon yourself with horror and then claw out your own throat!" Her entire body began to permeate a red energy. "Bakudo Number Nine, Strike!" The red energy suddenly engulfed the body of Grand Fisher, creating paralysis. Seemingly, it appeared to had worked but then...

"How dare you interfere!" Grand Fisher roared. Very able to break out of the spell, he retaliated against Rukia, sending her flying back with one of his tentacles and she crashes into a tombstone. Her head began to bleed as she gasped and panted.

"Can we attack the bastard now?" Hana asked Sayuri.

Sayuri answered, her teeth grinding together. "Nope." She was pissed that Grand Fisher harmed Rukia but they couldn't attack yet. They had to wait a little longer.

Grand Fisher began to laugh again as he raised his right arm, lifting Karin into the air further. "Now, just sit there and watch as I devour this little girl." He was completely ignoring Hana, Saidō, and Sayuri, expecting none of them to do anything because of his unpredictable-ness and great strength. "Tasty." He opened his mouth and began to lower Karin towards it.

"No, don't!" Ichigo exclaimed as he watched in horror, still trying to break free.

Grand Fisher paused momentarily, looking down at Ichigo. "If you feel so strongly about it, maybe I should just eat you first." He laughed, once again, and he began to lower his mouth towards Ichigo instead. However, help finally arrived as Hana slashed off the right hand of Grand Fisher, appearing above him. As Hana was knocked away by Grand Fisher's arm, his severed right hand landed on the ground and Sayuri picked up Karin, flashing away from the area to take her to Kon as Ichigo broke free from Grand Fisher's grasp. "No!" Upset that his meal was taken from him just like that, he retaliated against Hana once more as he sent multiple tentacles at her while she was beginning to sit up, unaware of the approaching attack. Just as she began to realize she was in danger, it was too late for her to move out of the way. However, she didn't get impaled by any of the tentacles and she, and the others, stared in shock as they watched Saidō be pierced by the tentacles instead.

Ichigo jumped down to where the two were located, cutting the tentacles as Sayuri came back, her gasping at the sight upon her return. Ichigo looked towards Saidō as the Soul Reaper in question propped himself up with his Zanpakutō. Behind him, Hana was sitting on the ground, still shocked by what occurred. "Why? Why did you sacrifice yourself to save Hana?" Ichigo asked. He, as well as the others, definitely hadn't expected such an event to occur.

Saidō panted and chuckled as blood dripped from his mouth and his wounds. "I'm a Soul Reaper, kid, and we fight Hollows." As he spoke, Sayuri flash-stepped behind him and she helped Hana stand up, breaking Hana out of her shock. "We kill them without mercy, no matter what." He spit out a large amount of blood before continuing his words. "When a Hollow attacks at random and kills someone." He let out a gasp as he hunched over. Out of instinct, Rukia and Sayuri stepped forward as if to try and help him somehow. "That person's loved ones are the real victims. They're left with nothing but an emptiness. As a Soul Reaper, I couldn't let that happen. We must always protect the innocent." He glanced towards Hana as she moved to stand in front of him, a look of great concern in her eyes as she tried to figure what she could do for him. "And sometimes, even our enemies with the same purpose as us," Saidō finished, referring to Hana. Though he had tried to harm her earlier, he chose to save her after witnessing how much she cared about the potential victims of Grand Fisher. Saidō grunted as he finally collapsed onto the ground, his Zanpakutō dropping beside him.

"Hey, get up!" Ichigo exclaimed as he stared at Saidō. The male Soul Reaper in question didn't respond, lying still upon the ground. "Do you hear me? Get up!" He looked over at Rukia as Rukia approached Saidō. "He can't die, can he?" He was too occupied with the situation at hand that he didn't recall the information that Hana had told him way earlier, the information about how her parents (a Human and Soul Reaper) were killed by a Hollow. "He's a Soul Reaper," he continued.

"Ichi..." Hana started as she looked towards him. He looked at her and turned towards her completely, reaching a hand out as he took a step forward before stopping himself. He wanted to comfort her but it wasn't the best time for that. "Even Soul Reapers aren't immortal... Thought my telling you of how my parents really died would had made this information known to you..."

"Huh?" Rukia wondered while she was crouching down beside Saidō, having heard a snore. A second later, another snore filled the air. Saidō was merely sleeping, still very much alive.

Hana immediately scoffed, no longer concerned. "Wow." She had been worried about the Soul Reaper for nothing. He hadn't been dying. His wounds had apparently just made him very sleepy.

"Well, he certainly can be overly dramatic," Sayuri remarked, shaking her head. "Monologuing like he was about to die. Typical of someone with his personality."

"Wait a minute, he's only sleeping!" Ichigo went from being concerned to being angry that he had been concerned for nothing, just like Hana had become. "Tell him to get up or I'll kill him!"

"I completely agree with that notion," Hana stated. "However." She finally placed her attention back on Grand Fisher, who surprisingly hadn't attacked again while everyone was distracted. "We should get back to the matter at hand. We don't need his help." She looked back at Ichigo and then at Sayuri. "I believe the three of us can manage this one on our own. Kind of like the last last time." She was referring to when they fought Shrieker.

"I think that's a gr-" Sayuri began. However, she was interrupted when Ichigo suddenly leaped towards Grand Fisher without a second thought. "Ichigo! Wait! We need to work together, not apart!"

Ichigo landed on the wall that Grand Fisher was still standing upon. "No," he told Hana and Sayuri. He wanted to do this alone. He needed to do this alone. "I have to do this for my mother. Stay out of this." He believed he was capable of doing this alone, of defeating Grand Fisher alone.

"What?!" Hana and Sayuri exclaimed.

"Have you lost you mind?!" Rukia yelled. "This Hollow's been getting the best of Soul Reapers for fifty years! He's way too strong for you to take on-!"

"That's enough!" Ichigo yelled as it began to rain. He got into a fighting stance, completely determined to do all of this alone. "Now please, don't interfere or try to help me. This fight..." He raised his Zanpakutō up higher. "Is all mine!" Grand Fisher let out a roar and Ichigo ran at him, yelling as he went. Both of them began their battle, both attempting to harm the other as they moved into the forest. Ichigo dodged the tentacles coming at him multiple times and tried his best to slice Grand Fisher's mask but Grand Fisher always moved out of the way before he could land a strike. Ichigo dodged more tentacles and jumped around trees, entering a large open area. He quickly faced Grand Fisher, not wanting to keep his eyes off him for long.

"That was pretty brave of you, young Soul Reaper, telling your friends you didn't need any help from them to fight me. Pretty brave and pretty stupid," Grand Fisher told Ichigo, standing directly across from him in the field.

"Shut up," Ichigo told him. He looked exhausted but he wasn't backing off or giving up. " _I don't really know how long Yuzu grieved after our mother died. And I can only imagine how lonely Karin must have felt without her._ " He gripped onto his Zanpakutō handle very tightly. "I've also made it my duty to protect the innocent. And that means it's my duty to destroy you!" Ichigo ran at Grand Fisher, swinging his Zanpakutō horizontally at him once he reached him, Grand Fisher having went at him as well. However, Grand Fisher easily dodged the attack and appeared behind Ichigo.

"I guess you didn't listen when your friends told you not to be so reckless," Grand Fisher remarked. Ichigo turned around as Grand Fisher reached towards him, stopping Grand Fisher's left hand with his Zanpakutō. "You've been lucky so far. How many times do you think you can get away with jumping into the lion's den without any strategy?" While he remained gripping Ichigo's Zanpakutō, running towards the field was Hana, Rukia, and Sayuri, all three of them coming to a stop nearby. "Well, today's the day your luck finally ran out, maggot!" Three of his fingers extended, piercing into Ichigo.

Ichigo coughed up blood as the blood from his wounds dripped onto the grass. Rukia and Sayuri let out gasps at what occurred in front of them but they both quickly grabbed onto Hana, who let out a scream. "ICHIGO!" Hana struggled to get free from their grip, tears forming in her eyes. "I need to help him! Let go!"

Sayuri shook her head and laid her head against Hana's shoulder as she pulled her into a hug, making Rukia let go of Hana. "He's got to do this by himself. It's what he wants. You need to respect that. No matter how hard it is to do so..."

"No!" Hana yelled, trying to break free from Sayuri. "I can't let him die! I can't watch him die when I can help him!" She started sobbing as she slowly gave up her struggles, burying her face into Sayuri's robes. "I can't lose him... I..." Sayuri's eyes widened as she believed that she would be hearing a love confession coming from Hana but she got no such thing. "...I just can't... He's my best-friend... He means everything to me..." Sayuri's eyes softened and she sighed, hugging Hana and keeping her from looking back towards the fight. She never thought she'd witness Hana be like this but even the toughest of people can be broken somehow...

Grand Fisher pulled back his fingers, removing them from Ichigo as he backed away. Ichigo nearly fell over and had to keep his Zanpakutō blade planted in the ground to continue standing, holding onto the handle tightly. He grunted in pain as more of his blood landed on the ground. "That's teach you to be so reckless, amateur Soul Reaper," Grand Fisher said. "Rejecting the offer of help from your comrades will prove to be your final mistake. And now, you'll endure the shame of dying without even having wounded the great Grand Fisher." He made his right hand reappear.

"Ichigo!" Rukia exclaimed, taking a step forward. She was like Hana, not wanting him to do this on his own. She wanted to help him.

"Stay back!" Ichigo yelled through his pain. "I'll do this my way," he grunted out angrily. "Whatever it takes. No matter what it costs, even if I die, I'm gonna finish this." He kept his eyes on Grand Fisher, glaring at him with so much hatred in his eyes.

"Then die you will because you allow your passion and your rage to distract you from your purpose," Grand Fisher announced. "And that distraction dulls your sword. You flail wildly, but your physical skills alone are not enough to defeat me. And now, I shall show you why your mind is not strong enough to fight me, either." He made his lure lower until it was in front of his own face. He gripped it in his right hand. "Behold!" Releasing his grip on the lure, the face of it was not the face of the young girl but the face of Ichigo's mother, Masaki Kurosaki, and it resembled her completely, right down to her long, wavy light-brown hair and brown eyes.

Ichigo let out a gasp. Upon hearing it, Hana quickly moved to see what had occurred before Sayuri could prevent her from doing so and she gasped at the sight as well, having seen pictures and the poster of Masaki in Ichigo's house. "That's... That's Ichigo's mother..." She sniffled as she attempted to turn towards the scene of the battle. Sayuri allowed her to do such but kept her grip on her, not wanting Hana to interfere in Ichigo's fight.

"Bastard!" Ichigo gasped out loudly, panting from lack of breathe due to his injures.

"Even the most cold-blooded Soul Reaper has one person whom he can never kill," Grand Fisher informed them all. "That is a fact which you cannot deny. By learning who that person is, I have evaded every Soul Reaper who has come before you for over fifty years," he announced as he spoke to just Ichigo. "And I have learned that for you, this is that one person."

"Do you remember me, Ichigo?" 'Masaki' asked. Ichigo let out a grunt as he slowly removed his Zanpakutō blade out of the ground, lifting it up and pointing it towards Grand Fisher, towards the lure that resembled his mother.

"Well, Soul Reaper, can you draw your sword against your own mother?" Grand Fisher asked before he laughed evilly.

"Bastard," Ichigo stated again, only quieter this time around. Blood was dripping down the left corner of his mouth. "How dare you defile her memory by bringing her into this, you disgusting freak. You make me sick!" He began running at Grand Fisher again. "I'll cut your heart out!" He immediately stopped when the lure moved to be directly in front of him, the face of his mother still a part of it.

"Ichigo, you mustn't do this," 'Masaki' told him. "You mustn't hurt your mother." A sad look appeared on 'her' face as she got right in his face. "Please, son, you must put your sword down." Ichigo didn't move, just staring at the lure with wide eyes and his teeth gritted together. "Do it for me," 'Masaki' said. Grand Fisher appeared directly behind his lure and he attacked, piercing through Ichigo's right shoulder with a tentacle. Ichigo grunted as he felt more pain, the blade of his Zanpakutō hitting the ground as Ichigo lowered it unwillingly.

Rukia and Sayuri gasped at the sight while Hana whimpered, leaning back into Sayuri's arms since she was still being held by her. Running up behind them was Saidō, the Soul Reaper having finally woken up. He stared at the scene in front of him with wide eyes. "Did I tell you?" Grand Fisher questioned Ichigo. "Your rage only serves to dull your blade. It makes you vulnerable. And now, with my next blow, I'll finish you off!" Grand Fisher raised his right hand and his fingers extended. "After I kill you, I'll go after your little redheaded friend first! She'll be the easiest to kill after witnessing her little reactions! Now, before you die, I want to tell you that after having faced so many Soul Reapers, you were the most foolish and by far the weakest of them all!" He began to attack but the attack was stopped as the lure suddenly began to glow a very bright light blue, energy releasing from it. "What? Why don't you die?" Grand Fisher wondered, getting annoyed.

"What is that?" Rukia questioned as she shielded her eyes. The light deemed but a more angelic light surrounded the lure.

Hana stared at the lure in awe and confusion. "W-What the hell is going on?" She felt Sayuri shrug, Sayuri unsure of what was occurring as well.

Saidō chuckled before he began to speak, his presence becoming known to the three females. "That lure we see isn't actually his mother, but she's transmitting her thoughts to him." Hana's eyes widened at the news as she continued to stare at the lure and at Ichigo.

"That can only mean that the lure recorded her thoughts at the very moment she was killed," Rukia realized, in awe.

"Her dying thoughts were recorded?" Ichigo questioned softly, his voice breaking slightly.

"Ichigo," 'Masaki' began. Ichigo let out a gasp as he stared at the lure, seeing the full image of his mother in the clothing she had worn when she died. "My son, I'm very proud of you. You and your father, Karin and Yuzu, I am so lucky to have had those years with all of you. And I know that because of the love that all of you share, you will always keep the family together and strong, even without me. Ichigo, live on, my son. Live with strength and kindness, and never lose that smile, the smile you always wore when you looked at me. Ichigo, thank you for loving me." The lure of Masaki vanished shortly afterwards.

"Mother..." Ichigo whispered. He grunted as he grabbed onto the tentacle that was still piercing through his right shoulder with his left hand. "Mother, now I know what your last thoughts were." He grunted again as he raised his Zanpakutō. Grand Fisher grunted in surprise. "You say anger dulls the blade. You may be right about that." He stood up, having dropped to one knee earlier when the tentacle pierced his shoulder. "But there's something else that you haven't considered. To kill a slimy scumbag like you, a dull blade like this one is all that I need!" Removing the tentacle from his shoulder, he went at Grand Fisher and his Zanpakutō finally entered the Hollow, piercing his left shoulder and he slashed through it, creating a rather large wound on Grand Fisher's arm.

Grand Fisher let out a yell of pain before he began to run away, fearing that he would be defeated if he remained there. "Curse you, Soul Reaper! You haven't seen the last of me!" He jumped into the air. "You'll burn for this someday!" With that, he was gone.

"Coward!" Ichigo yelled. The blade of his Zanpakutō pierced the ground once more as he began to lose his strength once again.

"Ichigo, it's over," Rukia stated as she started to approach him quickly. "You did it! You stopped him!" She placed her hands on his shoulders gently. "Put down your sword and rest. This battle is over." Upon hearing those words, Sayuri finally released her hold on Hana and Hana ran forward, running towards Ichigo and Rukia.

Ichigo strongly disagreed. "No, it isn't! It won't be over until I've killed him! I have to! I will avenge my mother!" He attempted to take a step forward but grunted in pain and he slowly started to collapse.

Hana reached him and Rukia, wrapping her arms around him as he continued to collapse. Hana and Rukia both moved to kneel on the ground, lowering Ichigo as he lost consciousness. Rukia removed her hands from Ichigo as she watched Hana place Ichigo's head on her lap, laying her head atop his as her forehead connected with his. "You scared me so badly, Ichigo..." Hana whispered to him, despite that he would not hear her. "Don't ever do that again..." She shifted her head slightly, placing a long kiss on Ichigo's forehead. " _You are a fool, Ichigo Kurosaki. But I'm glad you are going to live to see another day. I don't know what I would had done if you had died... I probably would had died, too... Maybe not... I'm glad this ending happened instead._ " She removed her lips from his forehead and lifted her head, moving one of her hands to his head to gently mess with his hair.

Rukia's gaze had softened as she watched the moment Hana had. She could easily tell that Hana truly cared about Ichigo and his well being. She turned her gaze from Hana to Ichigo and let out a comment of her own. "I'm glad you didn't die today, Ichigo," she stated gently.

Sayuri approached them, a smile on her face. "I'm glad he didn't die, too. He has grown on me." She cared very much about him. She truly wished she could had helped him just like Hana and Rukia wished but it was Ichigo's battle to fight, not theirs. They had needed to respect that, even if they didn't like what the outcome could had been.

Saidō moved slightly closer to them before stopping, beginning to speak. "Your friend is something else." He was referring to just Ichigo. "As you know, the power a Soul Reaper possesses is determined by his life force. Heh. This kid's potential is a little frightening." He looked at Hana and after a moment, she looked back at him. "And I can only imagine how strong you really are, Little Missy." His hat in his hand (having gotten it earlier before he got there), he placed it back on his head. "Well, time for me to head home. It looks like little Rukia and little Sayuri have finally grown into women. And-"

"Give it a rest, would ya?!" Rukia exclaimed. Sayuri let out a snicker.

Saidō turned away from them. "Okay, have it your way. But you know the Soul Society's going to find out eventually." He began to walk away from them. "Bye, Rukia. Sayuri."

Hana watched him walk away, surprise in her eyes. She hadn't expected him to not take her with him using force. She hadn't expected him to not finish Ichigo off while he was in a much more vulnerable state. Finally like she needed to say it, she spoke to him loud enough so that he could hear as he walked off. "Thank you for saving me," she finally said. Saidō's paused his movements but he didn't look back. Instead, he gave her a thumbs up before continuing his departure. " _I suppose he isn't so bad, after all..._ "

* * *

As the darkness of the night began to take over completely and the graveyard was lightly lite up by lampposts, Hana stood near a tree as she watched Ichigo stare at his mother's tombstone. Both of them were back in their bodies and Ichigo had been healed of his wounds by Sayuri. Hana remained where she was as Isshin walked up to Ichigo, not wanting to interrupt their rare normal moment. She just continued to watch, keeping a good distance away from them and she was very much unable to hear what they were saying to one another, but she felt like it had something to do with Masaki. She looked up towards the moon as Ichigo and Isshin spoke to each other, her mind going completely elsewhere as she thought about the day she met the Kurosaki family...

 _The day had been cloudy and she had only been ten years old, nearly eleven. It had been a year since her parents were killed by the Hollow that never reappeared again. She was walking slowly behind Kisuke Urahara, the man who had been taking care of her since she was orphaned. Her parents had been properly buried in the graveyard of Karakura Town and they were heading there silently. It was very often that Hana would keep to herself, only ever opening up to innocent, year-older friend Yuki. The tragedy she witnessed a year beforehand had affected her very badly and Yuki was the only one who understood her emotions, her having gone through something similar when she lost her family._

 _Upon arriving at the cemetery, Urahara lead Hana to where her parents laid to rest forever. Shortly after they both had gotten to the tombstones, Urahara walked away to allow Hana to be alone since that was mainly what she ever wanted most days after training; although, she did occasionally spend time with Yuki because the tragedy was what they had in common. Hana stared blankly and silently at the tombstones that read the names of her deceased mother and father, tears dripping down her pale cheeks. She didn't let out any loud sobs, though, and just silently wept for a while before she moved away from the graves._

 _She wandered around aimlessly, just staring blankly at all the tombstones. Deep down, she was still upset over losing her family and was now just becoming sad about all the others who left too soon; she had far more understanding of death than most children her age, her being very different than most. As she wandered around, she heard loud sobbing and she looked away from another tombstone, her emotionless eyes locking onto a nearby family. Three kids, one around her age while the other two appeared younger, and an adult male, clearly the father of the children. The young black-haired girl didn't show much emotion, quite like Hana, but Hana knew she was probably sad deep inside like she herself was. The young light-blonde haired girl was sobbing loudly, rubbing her eyes as her father awkwardly pat her head. Lastly, the young orange-haired boy just stared sadly at the tombstone in front of him and his family, no tears pouring down his cheeks._

 _Hana frowned as she watched the family, coming to a conclusion that perhaps they had lost someone on that very date, too. Looking down at the bag she had hanging over her shoulder, she unzipped it and looked at what was contained inside. She had brought a load of dark chocolate with her, it being the favorite candy of her parents and herself, and she had planned to eat some of it alone while saving some for later that day. She had a change of plans, however, and she took out four of the dark chocolate candy bars, zipping the bag up with much difficulty. She approached the family slowly, none of them aware of her coming towards them as they were distracted by the sad moment they were having._

 _She approached the man, Isshin Kurosaki, from behind first, gripping his shirt and lightly yanking it downwards to grab his attention. He turned his attention to her immediately but a look of surprise was on his face as soon as he spotted her; he most likely thought it had been one of his kids. Without saying a word, she held out one of the candy bars to him and nodded to it, a small smile appearing on her face as she finally showed some sort of emotion physically. Isshin let out a chuckle as he grabbed the candy bar from her gently. "Thank you," he said to her, his first impression being that of a normal person. Nodding in response, she turned towards the three of Isshin's children and saw that all three of them were looking at her, expression of confusion and curiosity on their faces. One by one, she handed out the rest of the bars she took out, giving one to the little orange-haired boy, Ichigo Kurosaki, last. Hana smiled happily as she saw that the crying girl, Yuzu Kurosaki, was calming down a little. The black-haired girl, Karin Kurosaki, stared at the candy bar blankly before she ripped off the wrapper, taking a bite out of the snack that was given to her._

 _Turning her attention towards Ichigo again, Hana continued to smile happily. She felt like she accomplished her goal to cheer up the family. She tilted her head slightly as she eyed him, seeing that he was staring at her with his candy bar unopened in his hand. She looked at her hair and pointed at it. "I like your hair," she spoke. "It's really cool and unusual looking."_

 _His little cheeks heating up, he unwrapped his new snack and took a bite of it, mumbling. "Thanks..." He avoided eye contact with her as he slightly enjoyed the dark chocolate._

 _"Hanako," Hana heard her name be called and she turned her attention towards the person who called it: Urahara. He looked around at the candy that the Kurosaki family was holding and he smiled a bit. "I see." He knew exactly what she had done. He looked at her. "Have you already finished paying your respects to your parents?" Hana nodded and she approached Urahara. She didn't want to stay there any longer but she did hope to see the family again someday. Urahara looked at Isshin and the two of them shared a look with each other. "Did you bother any of you?"_

 _"Not at all. We appreciate the candy she shared with us," Isshin told him, his tone serious._

 _"Duly noted," Urahara stated. He turned away from the Kurosaki family and he began to walk away, his hand resting on Hana's back as he lead her away. Hana glanced back towards the family and upon seeing all them watching the two of them leave, she smiled once more at them before looking away. At the time, she hadn't been aware that she would be seeing them more often than not from then on out..._

Hana let out a sigh as the memory faded and she looked back towards Ichigo, blinking when she noticed that he was alone now. Thinking back to the memory, she realized that had been the only time Ichigo had seen Urahara before the Kon incident occurred. She wondered if Ichigo recalled having seen Urahara before but perhaps not since shit was going down at the time when he re-met Urahara a second time in several years. As she began to head over to Ichigo, she noticed that he was staring up at someone and she looked up, seeing Rukia and Sayuri standing on the brick wall. She shook her head slightly as she walked up behind Ichigo, gesturing her hand for Rukia and Sayuri to come down to where she and Ichigo were.

Hana expected the two of them to jump down from the wall but instead, the two of them started walking the opposite way. She assumed that they were just taking the longer way off or perhaps they were just allowing her and Ichigo to be alone. "You know," Hana began, causing Ichigo to jump slightly. She let out a laugh. "Uh, oops. I thought you heard me approaching you."

Ichigo glared at her a little. "No, I didn't hear you. I was deep in thought." He softened his gaze and sighed a little. "What were you saying?" he asked, curious as to what she had been trying to tell him.

"Right." Hana nodded. "So, you know," she repeated. "I started thinking a minute or so ago about when we met here." A sad smile crossed Ichigo's face as he nodded, gesturing for her to continue. "And then I realized that you met Urahara that day as well and you had only seen him that one time before you saw him again during the whole Kon rebellious crap we went through for a bit. So, I was kind of wondering if you were even aware of that fact."

Ichigo let out a grunt-like gasp. "Wha-? Mr. Hat-and-Clogs is your caretaker?!" He looked entirely surprised with the information. He looked confused next. "I met him before? On that day? Really? I don't remember that. I just remember meeting you." So, he hadn't remembered meeting Urahara before but hadn't forgotten about how he had met Hana, even though he had met them both on the same day around the same times.

Hana smiled. "That's flattering." She lifted up a bag that was strapped around her, have gotten it earlier from Yuzu. "Like to take a guess on what's inside the bag of mystery?" she asked in a slightly goofy tone, sticking her tongue out slightly. Ichigo smiled at her and rolled his eyes, reaching towards the bag and unzipping it, looking through it and pulling out two dark chocolate bars. He held one out to Hana and she took it with a smile. "Why, thank you, kind Sir," she said in a slightly fancy tone. Ichigo chuckled at her and, again, rolled his eyes. Rukia and Sayuri walked up behind Ichigo, his back turned towards them because he was facing Hana. However, he actually heard them coming unlike with Hana and he turned towards them.

As soon as Rukia and Sayuri reached them, Hana looked inside the bag and pulled out the last remaining two dark chocolate bars, handing them both to her two friends. The four of them didn't talk amongst themselves, instead choosing to eat their snack in silence. The friendship between them had grown much stronger that day than any other day that had gone by previously, that day being the most important thus far; what Rukia and Sayuri felt towards their friends was finally made known, Hana's fear for losing Ichigo was greatly made known to Rukia and Sayuri, and Ichigo's over-protectiveness of Hana had been made more known. As the battles were slowly getting tougher, their friendship was slowly getting stronger...

* * *

 **Word Count: 9,936**


	12. Chapter 11: Don Kanonji

**Warnings: Errors in Grammar, Spelling, Etc. Out-Of-Character Moments. This Fanfiction Series Contains Original Characters. This Fanfiction Series Follows The English Dub Anime (Like All of My Fanfictions Do). This Fanfiction Series Contains Original Ideas, Some Meant to be Explained in the Far Future. Don't Like That, Don't Complain About It and Just Simply Don't Read It. :) It's As Simple As That. Please, Do Enjoy! You Have Been Warned. Oh and Some Scenes Have Been Left Out Along with Some Dialogue, and Some Dialogue From the Anime Has Been Reworded Along with Some Scenes Have Been Changed by the Slightest. Less Dialogue, More Action Within The Last Remaining Paragraphs of Chapter Sort Of.**

 **Reminder: Time Skips Quite A Lot In The Show (So It Is The Same For This)**

 **My bestie, whom I call my wife most days, guest stars in this chapter. The information made known in the first scene she is shown in is based on truth.**

* * *

Another day of Karakura High School had come to pass. Hana and Ichigo were walking down the hallway, not making conversation for once since they didn't have anything to say, and they walked into their classroom where a really odd surprise awaited. Standing in front of the entrance to the classroom was Orihime and she was standing with a large smile on her face and her eyes closed, arms crossed across her chest and her hands grabbing onto either of her shoulders. "Bwa-ha-ha-ha!" she bellowed out, awkward and loud without a care in the world.

"Hmm?" Ichigo questioned, a startled and perturbed expression on his face. Some sweat dripped from his forehead to his cheeks. Not to mention, he was standing in a very strange position at the door as he stared at Orihime.

Hana didn't react in such a ridiculous way. She stood correctly beside Ichigo, bag over her shoulder and the blank expression on her face become one of curiosity. "What the hell was that, Orihime?" she questioned, her left eyebrow raising. She tilted her head to the right slightly to see Yuki standing behind Orihime and gave her a questioning look. Yuki shrugged, pure innocence and confusion on her face; she didn't know what was occurring either.

"Huh?" Orihime wondered, confused by their different reacts. "You two barely reacted at all," she stated. Well, they had reacted but not in the way she had been expecting them to. She leaned forward, staring at them both in wonder. "Don't you even know where it's from?" They must've known, right? What she was doing? They had to know about it surely. Everyone knew about it. Well, everyone seemed to know about it.

Ichigo lowered his arms but remained positioned strangely, still staring at her but with a more blank expression. "Uh, _Spirit Hunter?_ " he guessed, lacking enthusiasm. Spirit Hunter was a popular television show that many watched and he didn't care for. He was aware that Hana felt the same way towards the show as he did and that made him more than happy. He became more aware of her dislike for it when she made a sound of disgust when he made his guess.

Orihime clapped her hands together happily, closing her eyes with glee. "Yeah, isn't that show just the best?" Blush appeared in her cheeks as she continued speaking. "Come on then, Ichigo. Join in with me." She backed up some and threw her arms up in the air. She was about to repeat what she said earlier when Yuki caught her arms, still standing behind her but much closer now. Yuki didn't want Orihime to be bothersome to her best-friends, additionally not wanting Orihime to unknowingly embarrass herself by being herself.

"I don't think Ichigo is interested in that sort of thing, Orihime," Yuki explained gently. "You can bwa-ha-ha with Tatsuki and I instead if you want." Despite that Yuki wasn't as interested in the show as most of her classmates and that she wasn't exactly aware of what the show even was since she had never actually seen it, she was willing to partake in the experience with two of her closest friends that cared about the show. As if on cue, Tatsuki walked over and she began to drag Orihime away from Hana and Ichigo. Yuki giggled at the occurrence and she followed behind the two of them, leaving Hana and Ichigo standing alone by the door.

"Huh," Hana responded. "Well, that was kind of amusing." She grinned a bit before shaking her head, turning towards Ichigo. "I forgot to mention something to you earlier." Ichigo hummed and looked towards her, a questioning look on his face. "I didn't have any nightmares for the third time in a row." For the longest time, she had been having nightmares whenever she dreamt and rarely had nice dreams. But recently, her nightmares had seemed to fade away at last. It had always been the same nightmares, one of her parents dying and one of her best-friends dying. Perhaps her fear was fading away. But that didn't mean she wouldn't be scared of her best-friends dying anymore. What had happened on the death anniversary had scared her badly but Ichigo had survived and so did she herself along with their two Soul Reaper friends and that one Soul Reaper guy.

"Really?" Ichigo turned towards her completely. "That's great." He was happy to hear that she wasn't being tortured by her nightmares anymore, as of now anyways. "Mind telling me what you've been dreaming about lately?"

Hana smirked, happy to tell him. He was involved in those dreams anyways so she might as well, even if she didn't want to. "I dream about all of those times where you would blush whenever I told you that I really liked your hair." From what she can recall, she was likely the first person to ever compliment his hair instead of attacking him because of his hair color. Additionally, she still couldn't believe that people picked fun at and fights with Ichigo just because his hair was orange. It was just really ridiculous in her opinion. But then again, maybe there was something to it that she was missing.

"I did not!" Ichigo exclaimed, a hint of blush appearing in his cheeks unbeknownst to him. That was just embarrassing for him to recall. He was well aware that he did blush a lot whenever she complimented him in the past about his hair but he didn't do such a thing anymore, not that he was aware of at least.

Hana didn't seem to notice Ichigo's blush either and she continued on with teasing him, no longer speaking of the dream but more of the memory that had caused the dream. "Did to. In fact, it took you almost two years to finally get use to the compliment that I was constantly giving you. You blushed so much that everyone thought you had a crush on me."

The blush in Ichigo's cheeks worsened and he looked away from her. "Shut up! It did not take me that long! And I didn't have a crush on you!" But it had taken him that long to get use to it. And he might had actually had a crush on her back then. And he was still completely unaware that he was blushing, even more now than he was previously.

Hana blinked, eyeing him questionably as she finally noticed that Ichigo was blushing and a lot at that. It wasn't very often when she'd see him blush nowadays, especially that much. "Hmm." She smirked again, ignoring what she was witnessing and not thinking much of it. "Whatever you say, Ichi." She was still completely oblivious of the feelings Ichigo had for her that he, too, was oblivious to and vise versa. Before she or Ichigo could make a move as they remained standing by the classroom door, they both heard the sound of Keigo calling out their names from behind. Turning around, the two of them found Chad, Keigo, and Mizuiro greeting them in almost the exact same way as Orihime had, however Chad didn't participate with the whole 'Bwa-ha-ha-ha' thing. "Wow," Hana stated blankly while Ichigo stared at the three, completely dumbfounded. "You guys too, huh? Not all that much of a shocker." She scratched the side of her chin as she stared at Chad, little emotion on her face and in her tone. "Except maybe for you, Chad. That's a bit surprising coming from you actually."

Sometime after her remark, the five of them had moved away from the classroom door and further into the classroom. Chad and Mizuiro went to their seats but Ichigo went straight to an open window, placing his arms on the window sill. Hana had followed him and she stood to his right, leaning against the wall as she stared both out the window and at Ichigo. She was so caught up in her own little world that she hadn't realized that Ichigo had told Keigo, who was standing behind him, of the fact that the two of them were not going to see the show until she heard Keigo speaking to them both again as she came back to reality. "What do you mean you're not going?" he questioned. He didn't even wait for a response and kept talking, already attempting to convince them otherwise. "It's the best TV show in Japan and it's gonna be broadcasting live from Karakura. You both live in this town. You'd have to be dead to miss it." Hana rolled her eyes and scoffed, not saying a word.

"Guess that makes us zombies," Ichigo commented. He raised his left hand, trying to wave off Keigo. He didn't bother looking towards him. "Get lost. We don't want to be bothered."

Keigo didn't stop. He wasn't about to just give up. "But I already went to the trouble of asking Rukia and Sayuri to go." He began to smile bright as speaking so excitedly, gesturing towards his right. Ichigo removed his arms from the window sill as he looked towards where Keigo gestured, spotting Rukia and Sayuri. Hana turned her attention towards the two of them as well as Rukia held out her skirt and bowed to Ichigo, acting like an innocent polite student like she normally did. Sayuri placed a hand to her mouth as she giggled at Ichigo's reaction to Rukia, Ichigo looking horrified. Hana raised one of her eyebrows, like she had earlier, as she watched Keigo approach Rukia and Sayuri, his arms cross across his chest again. "Come on, Rukia. Sayuri." He began to do the whole 'Bwa-ha-ha-ha' ordeal again.

"Mmm... No," Rukia politely declined. She placed her left hand on her left cheek, blush apparently in her cheeks. "I'd be too embarrassed to do it," she told him as she shook her head slightly while she spoke.

Sayuri immediately put both of her hands up in front of her, waving them as she quickly shook her head. "No. No thank you. I am not doing that. Far too embarrassing." And stupid but she didn't add that part because she didn't want to be rude.

As Keigo attempted to get both of the female Soul Reapers to do the gesture with him, Hana let out a sigh and caused Ichigo to look towards her. "Why is it that I am getting the feeling that we're going to end up going to that show anyways?" she wondered out loud, looking towards Ichigo with a frown. She really didn't want to go there. She didn't give a shit about the show.

Ichigo had a look of displease on his face as he agreed with her. "I have that feeling, too..."

* * *

Shortly after school ended, Yuki left the classroom before anyone else, seemingly in a hurry. Sayuri had almost went after her but Hana stopped her, immediately explaining that she was just going to go speak with her newest friend that recently moved to Karakura Town and Sayuri relaxed after realizing that Yuki wasn't in any kind of distress. Yuki walked, well, _rushed_ out of the front of the school building and grinned upon spotting her friend underneath a tree nearby. She skipped over to her, grinning the entire time.

Chaana Suween, mostly known to everyone as Charna, didn't acknowledge that Yuki was approaching her as she smiled up at the bright, slightly cloudy sky. She was sitting within a wheelchair, unable to walk because of an unfortunate accident years beforehand when she was younger. She was very beautiful in appearance, her skin very fair, and she seemed at peace with the world, her lovely bright sky-blue eyes still locked on the clouds and her long black-cherry-red hair was parted over either side of her shoulders, resting over her breasts. She was attired in the school's uniform, only it was slightly altered with the skirt being longer than anyone else's, female wise. She had her hands in her lap, her bag for school sitting in a pouch on the back of her wheelchair. She appeared to be deep in thought.

Yuki came to a stop behind her, a grin still on her face. She caused a bit of noise that pulled Charna out of her thoughts, making her look in Yuki's direction. "Hello, CharChar!" she greeted excitedly and perhaps a little too loudly, her grin never fading. "I'm here just like I promised! So, now, you won't be lonely while you wait for your ride home!" A little over half the students at the school, that met Charna, were nice to her but Yuki had been the first to ask to keep her company at the end of the school day. Charna was still considered to be the new girl, having only been there for a few weeks in total.

Charna stared at Yuki, her smile remaining on her face. She hadn't expected the girl to remember the promise that was made, yet she had. A great sense of happiness coursed through her body as she began speaking to her newest friend. "Hey, it's good to see you. I'm glad you remembered, honestly. I was beginning to think that you had forgotten about me," she teased in reply. Even though she was very new to the school, she still knew how to joke around with those she had just only met, her having officially met Yuki about two days beforehand. Being new, the students were curious about Charna and would had been, disability or not. Her disability didn't make things any easier for her unsurprisingly, though the company was appreciated whenever she had it. It was better than being ignored like in her previous school.

Yuki blinked, her grin fading. She hadn't become sad or anything. She had became confused and curious. She hadn't ignored any of Charna's words, a particular few catching her interest. "Why wouldn't I had remembered our promise? Doesn't everyone remember their promises?" While Yuki wasn't oblivious to the fact that there were bad people within the world, she was oblivious of the fact that even they break promises with no exceptions. She was even still oblivious of few other things, her older twin sister having explained quite a lot to her that she hadn't previously understood or known but not everything had been told to Yuki by her (her older twin).

"People...tend to forget when it comes to me," Charna revealed to her innocent friend. "You're the first in a long time, Yuki, to care about me enough to remember me." She smiled at Yuki and Yuki smiled back reflexively, temporarily forgetting the sad fact that had been revealed to her. "That alone makes me happy for once," Charna added as she shifted in her seat a bit. Being in the chair constantly caused a bit of pain to her back, hips, and legs. Oh, she hated the damn thing so much but how else would she get around? She fixed her posture to slouch a bit, helping alleviate the pain out of her back. She often went to physical therapy, but the chair would often just cause pain, despite it being something that helped her get around. Sadly, the pain was just a downside to being wheelchair bound. "Come here and sit beside me. It's going to be a bit before my mother comes to get me," she stated, speaking happily because she had become a tad more cheerful than before. Yuki was a nice distraction and a great friend, helping Charna keep negativity from flooding her mind entirely.

Yuki immediately sat down on the grass beside her, the two of them still located by a tree. "I don't see why anyone could forget you. You're so pretty and memorable." She looked up at the sky, smiling brightly. "But I am really happy that I made you happy. That's all I ever want to do." After a second, a sad thought crossed her mind and she just had to ask. She looked towards Charna. "Has anyone ever messed with you? Like in a bad way? Ummm." She thought of a way to clarify her words. "Has anyone been mean to you?" Having had heard about Charna being forgotten, she couldn't help but be curious if she was a victim of bullying like Yuki had been once.

Upon hearing the question, Charna looked over at Yuki. "Many times." Her answer caused Yuki to frown but it didn't stop her from continuing on with her explanation. "Staff and students have been mean to me, more often than not. My kind aren't always welcomed with open arms. I remember at my old school, my classmates believed I faked my disability and the staff believed I demanded too much of medical care. So, in turn, the staff required me to show medical papers to prove I am indeed disabled, despite that I gave them my medical papers at the beginning of each year. I could handle the students, though, by simply ignoring them." She paused and looked away, letting out a long sigh. "The staff was what made my life an absolute hell," she finished with a softer tone to express the sadness she held deep within.

Yuki continued to frown. "Those people shouldn't had been that way with you. They should had been kind and understanding, no matter what." She sighed a little, looking away from Charna. She moved her hands from her lap to the grass and she gently picked at it. "I don't like bullies. They...can be so mean..." Her tone had grew more gentle as she spoke but then, suddenly, her tone became cheerful again as a big smile reappeared on her face. "But because of bullies, I met Ichigo and grew even closer to Hana! Because of them, there's no reason for me to be sad when I think back to what happened to me!" She looked towards Charna and noticed that she was looking at her again. Yuki continued smiling and she placed a hand over her scarred eye. "And I will always treasure this scar right here!"

Listening to Yuki had put a smile upon Charna's lips. Seeing the girl being so cheerful despite everything, it was absolutely contagious. Just knowing her the past few days had made Charna's experience there better than she could had imagined. "Things are looking up for us both, I suppose. It feels nice," she replied, rubbing her legs as if she could feel her hands brushing against them. "I want to thank you for being here with me. I really do appreciate it. Maybe, for once, I can go to school without having my life be a hell." She smiled more, her hair falling off her shoulders as the wind blew a bit furiously momentarily. "And thank you for the beautiful compliment earlier. You're the first in a while to call me that," she stated, her eyes looking ahead of her with a pure happy smile.

Yuki let out a giggle as she nodded. "I always state what is true so you don't need to thank me at all! Hehe!" She began to shift back and forth where she sat, giggling more. "You'll really love it here. Most students are really nice, just have to meet them all first. And it is very easy to tell who isn't very good because of their aura. You can just feel it when you near them." She was incredibly happy about everything, completely back to her happy go lucky nature.

Charna smiled and let out a giggle herself. "Maybe I'll have my first boyfriend here." She laughed softly and crossed one leg over the other with much effort from her arms and hands. "Are there any hot guys here?" she asked with light blush in her cheeks from asking the question. She ran her fingers through her hair, feeling another breeze of wind hit her face. The fallen leaves rattled around, sliding over the ground slowly before flying away in the wind.

Yuki stopped her shifting, a thoughtful look on her face. She wasn't interested in guys but she was aware of what attraction was and what not. She had been aware of such things for a long while now. "Hmm. I suppose so but I don't feel attraction towards anyone so I can't really say. But I'm sure you will find yourself someone soon enough because everyone finds their soulmate eventually. As long as it isn't Ichigo you fall for." She got on her knees and moved close to Charna, whispering in her ear. "Hana loves him and he loves her. They just don't realize it yet." She moved away, grinning as she watched Charna laugh lightly. "Much luck with your search, CharChar. Hehe. Let's look at the pretty sky again before you go." Yuki plopped back down on her behind and she looked up at the sky, Charna looking up as well. Silently, they enjoyed the rest of each other's company...

* * *

Hana and Ichigo stood amongst a cheering crowd at the night event, both of them appearing to be displeased with having to be there against their will. Factually, Hana was the least pleased with being there and she was glaring at the back of Ichigo's head, standing slightly behind him at his left. He had brought her there against her will, just because he was being forced to go there by his family against his will, mostly. On the stage in front of them, Don Kanonji (host of the show that Hana and Ichigo mutually disliked heavily) spoke to the crowd but Hana completely blocked him out, still glaring at the back of Ichigo's head. "This is stupid. I can't believe you dragged me into this mess with you," she hissed at him as the crowd around them began to 'bwa-ha-ha-ha' with Kanonji. "Ugh, I wished they'd stop with that already!" She rubbed one of her ears, rolling her eyes at the crowd as she temporarily stopped glaring at Ichigo. She looked down at her clothing and huffed; a least she was dressed in more casual clothing than most of the lunatics around them.

Ichigo spoke boredly, with slight irritation in his tone that was caused because of his not liking of being there. "I didn't drag you. I picked you up and carried you over my shoulder. There's a difference," he clarified. Hana continued with her glaring at the back of his head. "I can feel your glare, you know." He looked towards her and she looked away, her arms crossed as she huffed. She glanced towards him after a second, eyeing his purple 'nice vibe' shirt and dark-blue jeans. She had to admit that he looked nice tonight. "And don't think I don't agree with you. I despise any kind of ghost show. You of all people should know that."

Stagehands began to direct the crowd towards the designated area in which the supposed exorcism was to take place. "Of course I know that, Ichigo," Hana stated as she walked beside him, the two of them heading towards the location at a slower pace than everyone else. "But I'm still allowed to be pissed at you for bringing me here against my will." She didn't want to admit that she would had ended up going there regardless, just because he was being forced to go.

"Hana? Ichigo?" the two of them heard their names be called from behind. They paused their walking and turned, looking towards where the voice had come from. Approaching them was Orihime, whom had been the one to speak, along with Charna and Yuki. Orihime reached them first, dressed in a long skirt and long-sleeved shirt. She stared at them both, a frown on her face. "I'm, uh, sorry for the other day." Behind her, Charna and Yuki were still approaching, moving at a slow rate. Yuki was standing behind Charna's wheelchair, pushing it along with a smile on her face as her light blue dress brushed against her legs each time she took a step forward. Charna was dressed less formally, attired only in some jeans and an old shirt, happy to had been invited to come along with Yuki and her friends.

"What do you mean?" Ichigo questioned her, his hands in his jean pockets.

Orihime glanced elsewhere. "It's just that Tatsuki was telling me you really can't stand TV shows like this one. Neither of you can. I had no idea. I wouldn't had bothered you if I had known." She felt bad for asking them to come, only because of their dislike for the show.

"Orihime, there's no need to apologize for something like that," Hana stated, staring at her. "It's really not that big of a deal. By this point, we're use to that sort of thing. Take Keigo and Mizuiro for example. They do that little gesture thing all the time and it annoys the hell outta the two of us, yet those morons still do it." Ichigo nodded in agreement with Hana.

Orihime looked towards them, smiling brightly. "But you both still showed up. Why is that?" She closed her eyes and clapped her hands together. "Is this like some sort of first date between you two?" she asked excitingly. Hana and Ichigo reacted in the same manner, both of them blushing and looking at each other before looking the opposite way of each other.

"It's not a first date or even a date," Ichigo corrected Orihime, avoiding eye contact as he continued blushing. "My dad and my little sister go out of their minds for _Spirit Hunter._ I couldn't just let them come alone, you know." He gestured towards where his family stood, Isshin and Yuzu doing the same o' gesture everyone else was while Karin watched them with a frown. "And Hana couldn't let me suffer through this alone." He wasn't wrong but he didn't mentioned that he had actually brought her there against her will.

Orihime smiled still, reopening her eyes. "I see." She glanced between Hana and Ichigo. "I think it's really nice that you both stick together so much." She hummed when she heard Tatsuki calling out to her and she began to walk away from the two best-friends. "I'll see you both later!" Her walk became a jog as she went to catch up with Tatsuki.

Charna and Yuki finally reached where the two stood as Orihime ran off. Yuki giggled upon witnessing such. "Orihime just couldn't wait a little longer, hmm? That's okay!" Hana and Ichigo both looked towards Yuki and they looked down slightly towards Charna next, eyeing her. "Hmm?" Yuki questioned them, wondering why they were staring at Charna before she quickly realized why. She smiled widely as she introduced Charna. "Oh! Hana, Ichigo, this is my friend. Everyone calls her Charna because she prefers it that way." She looked towards Hana, whom had finally stopped her blushing that had resulted from Orihime's earlier question. "Kinda like you prefer to be called Hana instead of Hanako, Hana!"

"Right," Hana replied. She smiled politely and nodded her head slightly. "Pleased to meet you, Charna. I hope you've been enjoying your new life here in Karakura." She was happy that Yuki had made another friend. It seemed like a rarity for that to occur, considering that not everyone liked Yuki's natural innocent and mature personality. And from time to time, Hana often thought about who'd end up with Yuki but the same result always came to mind, it being someone who was about as mature as Yuki, more or less because apparently in Hana's mind, only mature-like people were likely to catch Yuki's attention and vise versa.

Ichigo continued to stare at Charna without saying a word and it was causing her to feel a little self-conscious. Hana noticed this quickly and she elbowed him in the side, making him grunt in pain. He glanced towards her to glare at her before he looked back at Charna, finally greeting her awkwardly. "Nice to meet you, I guess." Hana elbowed his side again, her not liking his lame greeting, and he growled at her. "Quit doing that." It wasn't his fault that he wasn't really great at meeting new people sometimes. Well, actually, it was his fault because it was part of his personality but still.

Charna blinked as she stared at them both. She had been nervous when she and Yuki were approaching the two but when they had introduced themselves, she had gotten a bit relaxed. She shifted ever so slightly in her wheelchair, smiling slightly at them both. "Nice to meet you both. It's better than I thought it was going to be here. A good difference to what I'm use to experiencing." She placed her hands on the wheels of the chair, moving it into a better position as Yuki stepped to be beside her. Charna was thanking the stars that her muscles had not disappeared because had she lost her muscles, her independence would had long been lost. Placing her hands on her lap, she went back to staring at Hana and Ichigo. She could tell that they were really close and that Yuki wasn't wrong about the two being unaware of their attraction towards each other; she could tell just by looking at them that they had _that_ kind of vibe towards each other. Come to think of it, it was nice seeing them so close. Maybe her life really would change in Karakura but she could only hope and pray at this point, and keep a positive attitude along the way.

"That's nice," Hana stated. She smiled apologetically this time around. "I'm really sorry to cut this conversation so short but the show will be starting again soon and I wouldn't want any of us to miss out on anything." She didn't really care about the show but she didn't want Charna and Yuki to miss out on the fun that everyone else was having. "I do hope I see you around again at school sometime. We can talk longer then." Ichigo just awkwardly stood beside Hana, not saying anything because he didn't really know what to say.

"Oh." Charna seemed to be a bit disappointed but she smiled anyways. "Alright. I hope the two of you enjoy the show." She looked towards Yuki and nodded towards the crowd. "Mind helping me fight my way to the front so I can see?" she asked, speaking more playfully than seriously. Yuki nodded eagerly and she placed herself behind Charna's wheelchair again, beginning to push her past Hana and Ichigo. With some difficulty, Charna and Yuki went through the crowd, having to politely push through some people while others happily moved out of the way for them.

Hana watched as the two of them vanished within the crowd and she smiled again, shaking her head. "Even I have to admit that Charna would make a better friend for Yuki than the two of us combined. She doesn't have to deal with the things we do. She's...safer." For the past few weeks, Hana had been thinking about how Yuki was changing, becoming more involved with dealing with Hollows. Not that it wasn't bad but Hana just didn't want Yuki to be a part of this difficult life and she wanted things to be how they had use to be: with Yuki being terrified of Hollows and Hana having to deal with the Hollows all by her lonesome most days when a Soul Reaper wasn't around except because of Ichigo being a Substitute Soul Reaper, Hana wouldn't exactly had been on her lonesome. But things were different now and all of them were involved with dealing with Hollows. Hana didn't like it very much but she'd just have to start dealing with it, even if she was worried that Yuki could get badly injured like Ichigo did some days and she was even worried that Yuki's personality would slowly changed into something so...the opposite of what Yuki was currently and always like.

Ichigo only hummed in response to what Hana said, staring at the crowd in front of them both. He kind of agreed with her because he didn't want anything to happen to Yuki either but it was Yuki's decision and he couldn't change that. Neither of them could. Hearing a voice behind him and Hana again, he turned around only to see Rukia doing the 'bwa-ha-ha-ha' gesture and it caused him to freak out. "You too?!" Spotting Sayuri standing behind Rukia with her hand over her mouth, he pointed at her as he made a dramatic pose. "You aren't going to do it too, are you?!" Beside him, Hana was holding in her laughter and hiding her amusement as she turned to face their Soul Reaper friends.

"Absolutely not," Sayuri answered while laughing, removing her hand from her mouth. "Not a chance. That really is too embarrassing to do and I'm never doing it." She glanced around, searching for Yuki. "Is Yuki here, too? I haven't seen her much the past couple of days." Her new goal was not only helping deal with Hollows and staying with Rukia, not wanting to leave her behind, but also wanting to spend time with her twin that she reunited with. She knew the two of them would be separated again once the time came for Rukia and herself to head back to the Soul Society but she also knew that it wouldn't stop her from returning to visit her. She already had a plan in mind for how she would tell their father about Yuki being alive: either she wasn't going to tell him and let him learn it for himself just to see his reaction or she'd tell him herself and see how he reacts, to see what he'd do but either way, she felt that it wouldn't stop him from being busy with his plans for their future and she was beginning to think that the future he spoke of didn't involve her at all considering that he had been so distant towards her in more recent years.

"You just missed her," Hana told her. "She's in the front of the crowd with her newest friend, Charna. I'm sure they wouldn't mind you going to tag along with them. You could protect them from any harm that may come. You know how crowds can be when they get wild." Sayuri nodded and she ran past them, not saying another word to them as she went to catch up with Yuki. Hana blinked and turned her head to see Sayuri vanish into the crowd. "Alright then. Somebody really wants to spend time with their sister recently." She turned her attention back towards Ichigo and Rukia to find Ichigo scoffing at Rukia.

Rukia stared at Ichigo, her arms still cross across her chest. "Hey, what's with the serious look?" she questioned. Ichigo scoffed again. "As long as you're here, you might as well try and have fun." She looked towards Hana. "You both should relax for once." It was Hana who scoffed this time, rolling her eyes afterwards. Rukia shook her head at them both. They were so stubborn sometimes. No wonder they were perfect for each other.

"Shut up. I'm always like this," Ichigo verbally responded first, not looking at Rukia.

" _He's not wrong,"_ Hana thought, shrugging slightly. Between the two of them, he was less likely to relax while she was more likely to relax. But the two of them definitely couldn't relax while out there at some show they hadn't even wanted to go see. Neither of them liked the show and they didn't give a shit about it being a live show that they were a part of. Anything would be better than being there right now. Anything.

Rukia closed her eyes as she lowered her arms, a small smile on her face. She spoke to them both at once. "Between all of your schoolwork and your duties as a Soul Reaper, you both must be exhausted. And there will be hard battles on the road ahead." She reopened her eyes and looked at them both, still smiling. "Use tonight to enjoy yourselves a little."

Hana half-smiled and looked down at her feet. She appreciated Rukia's slight concern but this just wasn't an event that she could relax to. She looked towards Ichigo and watched as he looked towards Rukia. "What?" he questioned. "Are you-?" He stared at her questionably but he didn't get a chance to finish his question before Rukia interrupted him.

"By the way," Rukia had started. She crossed her arms and stared at them both while the two of them stared back at her. "Tell me. What is this festival all about?" Hana stared at Rukia for a second before smacking her palm against her head, face-palming. Ichigo reacted differently, completely losing his cool but only for a few seconds before calming down. But thinking about it, Hana realized that she and Ichigo should had expected this from Rukia, her showing up to an event she knew absolutely nothing about since she didn't know very much about the world of the living in which Hana and Ichigo had always lived in.

It wasn't long before the three of them moved closer to the abandoned hospital where the crowd was located, surprisingly wanting to know what was going on together. The three of them stared up at it and Ichigo spoke up first. "Seriously, you think there'd really be spirits in an old, deserted hospital like this one?" he pondered. Upon being questioned by Rukia, he continued. "I mean, if they had been here, you Soul Reapers would have helped them cross over already, right?" Hana listened quietly to him and silently waited for Rukia's answer. She was curious about this, too, and all she had ever done as part Soul Reaper was get rid of Hollows and help few spirits when she could in the past (before Rukia and Sayuri showed up).

"Well, not necessarily," Rukia answered, her arms still crossed. "Jibaku spirits are often tied to places like this. Jibaku spirits are ghosts that dwell within the Earth, so it's very rare that Soul Reapers are able to pinpoint their location." Hana looked towards her as she explained further and Ichigo remained focused on the abandoned hospital, his hands in his jean pockets. "There's only one reason a Jibaku would reveal itself. When it notices humans are invading its territory."

As soon as Rukia had finished explaining, a long and loud distant eerie wail filled the air as a cameraman took one wrong step closer to the hospital grounds. All around and standing in different parts of the crowd, Chad, Karin, Orihime, Sayuri, Tatsuki, and Yuki all picked up on the sound that was coming from the hospital and it caused most of them be be uneasy, Sayuri being the most calm out of them all and she whispered words of comfort to Yuki, whom believed the sound was that of a Hollow. Hana and Ichigo glanced at each other from where they stood, having heard the continuous eerie wail as well. " _That sounds too much like a Hollow. That can't be a Jibaku... Could it?"_ Hana thought as she looked back towards the hospital. " _I was right. Definitely not an event I could relax to."_

"That's the cry of a Jibaku," Rukia clarified. "So, there is one here."

Ichigo was confused. "Wait a sec, how do you know that sound's not a Hollow?" He couldn't tell a difference between the two. It sounded too much like a Hollow and that worried him quite a bit, just as much as it was bothering Hana. The eerie wails continued on and on, seemingly nowhere close to ending.

"There are certain paths along which Hollows come into being," Rukia began to elaborate as the Jibaku spirit began to appear in front of the hospital. "One path is when a Jibaku spirit, with its fierce attachment to the world, is left alone and becomes a Hollow, much like this spirit here. He is a Whole on the verge of becoming a Hollow. A Demi-Hollow." The Jibaku spirit let out a scream and it was less eerie than it had been. A hole was forming in his chest and chains were wrapped around him, connected to the hospital.

"That's confusing as hell, Rukia," Hana commented, finally speaking again after a long while as she stared at the spirit in front of the hospital. "I mean, it isn't all that confusing but it's a lot to take in." She never seen a spirit on the verge of becoming a Hollow before and she instantly knew that she didn't like it one bit. She felt sorry for the spirit, in fact. She felt bad that he was going through this phase. "Poor guy," she whispered.

"Yeah, well, he sure feels like a Hollow to me," Ichigo remarked. "Except that he's not wearing one of those white masks." He stared at the spirit just like Hana and Rukia were. "And the hole in his chest hasn't opened all the way."

"A hole in the Hollow's chest shows that the heart has been lost, leaving nothing but raw instinct," Rukia explained. "The white skull-shape mask is all that shields those bared instincts from the outside world. Neither are necessary if the heart is still intact." As she continued to explain, Hana glanced over at her and groaned as she noticed that Rukia was holding up one of her horribly drawn pictures. And Hana additionally began to wonder just how the hell Rukia had gotten paper. "Upon death, the chain of fate is severed from the body. Usually, the spirit waits for a Soul Reaper's guidance. But if they have regrets in this world, they become bound to the source of their pain." Noticing that Ichigo wasn't paying any attention to her drawings, she strode over to him and hit him on the back of his head before returning to her previous spot. Hana snickered under her breath and Rukia continued her explanation. "So that means this Demi-Hollow's heart is chained to the hospital."

"Mmm. I don't like this shit one bit," Hana stated as she looked back towards the spirit. "And the random lessons every other day is beginning to get on my nerves." She grunted in pain as Rukia's hand suddenly connected with the back of her head this time, Rukia standing to her left again. She huffed and pouted as she rubbed her head, silently cursing at herself for being the reason why Rukia had done that, Rukia having seen her do that to Ichigo more than once in the past. She looked towards her right and glared at Ichigo when he let out a low chuckle. "Shut up..."

The three of them watched and listened as the spirit began yelling. From elsewhere in the crowd, Sayuri and Yuki listened in to his words as well. "This hospital belongs to me!" the spirit yelled, angry at everyone around the hospital. "I'm not giving it up for anyone! Don't even think about trying to come in here! I'm gonna be filthy rich in this place!" The spirit went on and on, showing how shallow he was to the Soul Reapers listening in. Hana groaned and covered her ears, tried of hearing the spirit go on and on, beginning to feel less sorry for the guy.

Ichigo appeared annoyed with how the spirit was acting. "Yeah, well, whatever he is, he sure sounds like a dumbass." Hana started giggling, covering her mouth as she did while her mood suddenly became a little lighter. Ichigo glanced over at her in wonder before he started smiling to himself unknowingly. The lights in the area began to dim as the show began to start up again. Hana and Ichigo both groaned as they were finally being forced to see something they didn't really wanna see. Rukia, on the other hand, seemed to be a little excited for the event. In fact, as soon as Don did his signature gesture, Rukia was doing it as well along with the crowd, Hana and Ichigo excluded along with the Soul Reaper siblings that stood elsewhere. "Hey, knock it off!" Ichigo yelled at her.

Rukia lowered her arms and looked at him. "Don't worry," she stated. Hana stared at her questionably while Ichigo glared at her, still annoyed that she had participated in the gesture act again. "It takes months for a spirit to transform into a Hollow," she continued as the show proceeded in front of the three of them. "We don't want the spirit to become agitated with this many people around. We'll do the Konso after the show." Seeing Ichigo's annoyed expression turning into one of reluctance made her speak further. "Spirits go through so much pain when they transform into Hollows. They fill the night with terrible screaming." She looked towards the spirit. "I mean, does it look like that Demi-Hollow is suffering to you?" They all watched as the spirit argued with Don whom was looking straight at him. "Unless someone deliberately messes with that opening in his chest, he's still got another six months before becoming a Hollow."

Hana, Ichigo, and Rukia's eyes quickly widened, however, when Don pierces his stick into the hole within the spirit's chest. The spirit, or Demi-Hollow, began to scream from the severe pain he was enduring. The crowd began to cheer as they watched Don deal with something they couldn't see, clapping their hands and fist pumping the air. Hana whimpered slightly, feeling unease as the spirit continued with his screams of agony. She snapped out of it when she spotted Ichigo jumping over the chains that blocked the way and into the set, attempting to stop Don because he was speeding up the hollowfication process. However, he was immediately tackled by security and Rukia was tackled as well when she attempted to knock Ichigo out of his body.

Hana growled under her breath and stepped forward, hoping over the chain herself this time. She glared at the security officers that were rushing towards her this time around and she easily dodged each and every one of them, making them crash into a large pile on the ground. She headed towards the security members that held Ichigo, pulling off her shoe as she watched Ichigo struggle. "Let him go, damn it!" She tossed her shoe at them and one by one, it hit the head of every single security guard, making them release Ichigo one by one. Ichigo landed on his knees and he blinked, looking over at Hana as her shoe landed in front of his face, making him jump back a bit. "I'm so going to be arrested for that, aren't I?" Hana questioned as she approached Ichigo, picking up her shoe and putting it back on. Ichigo stared up at Hana, in awe at what just occurred.

"Uh..." Ichigo took a moment to answer as he continued to stare at her. "Probably." He hummed when he heard someone approaching them and suddenly, he was no longer in his body and he was standing in his Soul Reaper form. He opened his mouth to speak but he immediately noticed Hana's body falling over and someone grabbing onto her as she fell over. He blinked when he realized that it was Tessai whom was holding Hana's body and it was Urahara whom had made them both exit their bodies, his cane raised with a smirk on his face while Hana, in Soul Reaper form beside him, was glaring at him. "Mr. Hat and Clogs?" Ichigo questioned. He didn't bother recalling that this very man was Hana's adoptive father.

"Don't just stand there like a lump," Urahara stated. "Get to work already." He looked towards Hana, a proud smirk on his face now. Hana's glare vanished and she stared at him in surprise. "Well, go on. Hop to it."

Hana stared at him a second more before she ran over to where Ichigo was, the two of them running towards the hospital together. The two of them were already too late to stop the chains around the spirit from breaking but maybe they could stop Don from proceeding any further. However, as they both yell for Don to stop and Ichigo had accidentally thrown Don back, the spirit began crying in fury as it began to glow and suddenly, there was a burst and smoke erupted everywhere and once the smoke cleared, the spirit was nowhere in sight. The crowd around them cried out in excitement as they all believed that Don had successfully expelled the spirit. "That can't be good," Hana remarked. A cry of Hollow from above caused Don, Hana, and Ichigo to look up and sitting atop the roof of the hospital was a frog-like Hollow. "Oh, this definitely isn't good."

Don stared at the hollow up above, never having dealt with such a thing before. "What is that?" Don Kanonji, an unhandsome tall and thin man with a mustache that was wearing glasses and a flashy outfit, was surprised by what he was witnessing.

"A Hollow," Ichigo answered as he looked towards Don. Hana looked towards the man as well. "I hope you're ready."

In response, Don placed his hands to his ears, not covering them but more like he was trying to appear as if he was trying to listen for something. "Oh, I feel it," he spoke up. "I feel something," he continued as the crowd 'oh'ed and 'ah'ed at his words, "that reeks with the stench of a super dangerous spirit." Hana watched the man, unamused while Ichigo stared at the man, sweat-dropping. Don lowered his hands and made a fist, staring up at the roof of the hospital. "Now I understand. You're that other spirit's evil lord and you've come here seeking vengeance." Oh, he was far from being correct. He didn't know that the Hollow was the spirit that he just messed with.

"Nice try, jackass," Ichigo mumbled, hunching over as he continued sweat-dropping. Hana let out a scoff, shaking her head. After a moment, the two of them began to make a move to go after the Hollow but both of them were grabbed by Don, him yanking them back and pushing them out of the way.

"What the hell?!" Hana yelled, glaring at him. "What's the big idea?! We're trying to do our job!" This guy was beginning to get on her nerves. He was screwing up everything, for starters, beginning with him causing the spirit to become a Hollow at such a fast pace and now with his attempts to stop them from getting rid of it themselves. If she wasn't the person she was, she'd kill him right in front of everyone out of spite but she had a good heart so that was out of question. Although, she wouldn't mind breaking his face a little.

Don ignored her protests. After proclaiming that the two of them should run, he swirled his stick and let out a yell. The crowd gasped behind them all. "Come on, you bad spirit," Don stated loudly. "Don Kanonji, the premiere spiritualist of the century, is ready!" Just seconds after he stated this, the Hollow began to run down the side of the hospital. As it leaped towards Don, Ichigo pulled out his Zanpakutō and attacked the Hollow, knocking it back and it landed on the ground with a loud crashing sound, smoke filling the air again. "Kid, why didn't you and your girlfriend run?" Don asked.

"That's because you're the one that should be running away with his tail between his legs!" Hana exclaimed. "The two of us were made to do this sort of thing! Now, get your head out of your ass and get out of here!" She pulled out her Zanpakutō and Don stared in awe at the unusual red blade it had. Before Don began to protest, the Hollow was coming at all three of them and Hana, with the help of Ichigo, began attacking the Hollow, slicing at it to keep it at bay until one of them could get a good hit on its mask. Unbeknownst to them, Urahara watched closely from the sidelines, focusing on Ichigo's fighting style and Hana's mannerism as they both battled the Hollow. "Look out!" Hana yelled to Don and she pulled him out of the way as the Hollow leaped at him, making the Hollow crash into the hospital and its head temporarily got stuck. She snickered slightly as she looked towards it. "That's actually kind of funny." Ichigo glared at her and when she noticed, she hushed up and looked the other way.

"A golden chance!" Don attempted to approached the Hollow but Ichigo grabbed onto his cape, dragging him along as he pulled him into the hospital, Hana following behind them. The crowd was in awe and the announcer went on, and on, about how Don must be fighting against a powerful force that they could not see. Rukia made a move to head in after them but was prevented from doing so by Urahara, whom informed her that everything would be alright. Elsewhere in the crowd, Yuki shifted uncomfortably and stared at the broken glass door that was the entrance to the hospital. She and Sayuri had agreed to let Hana and Ichigo deal with this Hollow on their own but she still felt the urge to jump in and help them because she was worried something would go wrong. Sayuri had her hands around Yuki's shoulders, holding onto her and not saying a word as she stared at the hospital with concern in her eyes; she was worried, too, but she didn't wish to voice this to Yuki.

"Why are we running away, kid?" Don questioned as Ichigo continued to drag him through the entire hospital. Hana ran behind them, Zanpakutō still in hand unlike with Ichigo, whom had placed his away temporarily. They needed to get as far away from everyone as possible, to avoid anyone getting hurt other than themselves.

"Because I heard some idiot say we should run," Ichigo answered. Don immediately made a remark about how he ran away from no one and that he had only meant for Hana and Ichigo to run, this remark causing Ichigo to scoff and throw him against a wall. Hana skid to a stop, sliding past Ichigo slightly and she looked at him questionably, wondering why these words had made him angry. She got that Don was annoying and stupid, but it wasn't exactly necessary to toss him around, even though she deeply wanted to toss him around herself just because. "Can you explain this one to me?!" Ichigo exclaimed, crossing his arms. "Why should we run away and you stay behind to fight?!"

" _Oh, that's what pissed him off,"_ Hana thought. " _This feels like a bunch of he said, she said shit. Sort of. I don't fucking know. This is stupid."_ She looked behind them, glancing around for any sudden signs of the Hollow. She could sense it nearby.

"Well, I..." Don began after standing up and moving to stand right in front of Ichigo, and beside Hana somewhat. "I have to stay because... Because after all, I'm the hero." Ichigo hummed questionably, his arms dropping to his sides. "Listen, little man. Do you have any idea the ratings my show pulls in for the network?"

Ichigo felt a vain popping. "Why should I care?" he questioned dully.

"I'll tell you why you should," Don said. He spoke as if he made the biggest accomplishment in the galaxy. "I've got twenty-five percent. One in every four households is watching my show." Ichigo groaned as he listened and Hana was clenching her empty fist as she listened on, growing tired of this stupid nonsense. "And many of those viewers are children." Ichigo hummed once again, this apparently catching his attention. "Those children watch my adventures and their hearts are inspired. They see my stand up to evil spirits and learn what true courage is. So, don't you get it?" He pointed at Ichigo. "With all those kids out there watching my show, running isn't an option, understand?" He began to walk towards Ichigo and moved past him. However, before Ichigo grabbed onto him to stop him, Hana did exactly that but in a much more rougher way, tossing him to the ground behind her. "Hey, what gives?! We have a monster to destroy!"

"Okay, you sort of shallow bastard. You are gonna shut the hell up and let us do what we do best," Hana stated as she looked towards him. She had about enough of this bullshit. She spoke with a lot of venom in her tone that it scared Don and Ichigo both, chills going down their spines. "Going back out there will put everyone's life on the line and that is why we're in here. If you try to step one foot out of this hospital, I'll break both of your damn legs. Understood?"

Don didn't get to answer as the Hollow broke through the floor behind him. Hana and Ichigo both quickly moved to be in front of him and the Hollow leaped at them. Hana kept it at bay with her Zanpakutō while Ichigo attempted to pull out and use his own, causing it to temporarily get stuck in the wall but he quickly pulled it out. However, he realized that he wouldn't be much help inside the cramped hallways. Hana being thrown past him pulled him out of his thoughts and before he could even call out to her, the Hollow suddenly spit some green goo at him, his hands becoming stuck to his Zanpakutō. The Hollow leaped at him and he struck it, his Zanpakutō entering its shoulder and missing its mask. The Hollow suddenly leaped out of the hospital with Ichigo, Ichigo's Zanpakutō being stuck in its shoulder and Ichigo himself was stuck to his Zanpakutō. The Hollow went up towards the roof, jumping onto the rooftop and the Zanpakutō released from it, sending Ichigo flying somewhere of the roof and he quickly jumped to the side as the Hollow attempted to attack him. As he and the Hollow stared each other down, Don suddenly appeared on the roof from the door to the rooftop, surprising Ichigo as Hana flash-stepped onto the rooftop beside Ichigo. The Hollow went towards Don but when Hana and Ichigo both went to protect him, the Hollow spat more of the green goo and it hit both of them, pinning them into the roof fence.

"Oh, this is getting ridiculous!" Hana exclaimed as she struggled to get free. However, upon her looking up slightly, she noticed a very red-faced Ichigo glancing away from her, his face close to her. The two of them were facing each other and were stuck together, Ichigo against the fence and Hana against Ichigo. Hana began to blush and she looked away. " _Why did we have to get stuck in this kind of position?"_ She attempted to look back to see what was happening but it cause a great strain in her neck. She did, however, manage to catch a glimpse of the Hollow jumping straight at them. Reflexively, she closed her eyes and braced for impact. Ichigo did the same. However, the Hollow never reached them.

In front of them and protecting them both was Don, his stick inside the mouth of the Hollow. He was managing to keep it at bay this time around. "Are you kids hurt?"

Hana growled and attempted to look at him so she could glare. "No but you're the one who's gonna be hurting if you call us kids again." She really didn't like being called a kid, apparently.

"You can't handle him! Get the hell outta here!" Ichigo yelled at Don, more concerned about the safety of others than being angry at being called a kid.

"No," Don replied loudly. Ichigo stared at him, surprised while Hana continued on trying to look at him, eventually just tilting her head back and looking at him upside down. "I know my own strength and I know the difference between my enemy's powers and my own. I must say, you've made quite an impression on me today putting the safety of others first. That's great. We're three of a kind." Hana scoffed and rolled her eyes, mumbled 'whatever'. "Let's be friends." Suddenly, he was clenching his fist and letting out a loud yell, his hand sparking up. "Kanonji, Ultimate Attack!" He opened his palm and a blue orb formed. "Cannonball!" He turned his palm face up at Hana and Ichigo, sending the small orb at them. Both were dumbfounded and they both released a yelp-ish scream as a large explosion was created by such a small orb of light. Released from their hold, Ichigo leaped at the Hollow and he quickly finished it off, slicing through its mask as Hana placed away her Zanpakutō. The Hollow landed on the rooftop, defeated and it transformed back into the spirit Don had 'exorcised' as Don appeared behind them, cheering. His cheers died when he noticed the transformation before the spirit was completely gone. "What? That can't be." He felt great disbelief.

Hana rolled her eyes and muttered under her breath. "Moron..."

"He was a Hollow," Ichigo revealed. "With the chain linked to his soul broken, the hole in his chest opened. He became a monster devoid of conscience, a Hollow." Don dropped to his knees, muttering how ashamed he was as the crowd below cheered his name. "Hey, come on. Quit your crying, hero. Let's go. Everybody's waiting." He smiled as Don stood up and went to the railing. "Don't just stand there. Answer them." As Don began to do his gesture for all of his fans, Ichigo looked towards Hana and he continued to smile. Hana watched Don and felt that she was being stared at, her attention turning towards Ichigo. Subconsciously, she smiled back at him before looking away again, crossing her arms...

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 _Word Count: 10,838_


	13. Chapter 12: Troublemakers and Secrets

**Warning(s): Errors in Grammar, Spelling, Etc. Out-of-Character Moments. This Fanfiction Series Contains Original Characters. This Fanfiction Series Follows The English Dub Anime (Like All of My Anime Fanfics Do). This Fanfiction Series Contains Original Ideas, Some Meant to be Explained in the Far Future. Don't Like That, Don't Complain About It And Simply Don't Read. It's That Simple. Some Scenes Have Been Left Out, Some Scenes Have Been Reworded, Some Scenes Have Added Dialogue, Etc. First Two Scenes of Episode Eleven Shown/Mentioned Only (Sorry!). You've Been Warned. Please, Do Enjoy!**

 **I apologize for having taken so long to continue. On another note, this fanfiction can only be found on here and Quotev because I have deleted it from everything else. I have, additionally, deleted my OUAT fanfiction on all sites but this one. I'm on the verge of discontinuing that but I think I'll keep trying to continue it, just at a rather slow pace. (Update on OUAT: I deleted that off of here too so discontinued, honestly wasn't really feeling it anymore).**

 **On a side note, there's this thing about net neutrality that's happening and people are saying that we may have to pay to use sites if the vote is passed. So like we might have to pay to use this site or Quotev or any other of our fanfiction sites. Like, I don't have a job and I do not have any money whatsoever but my parents do and unless all they have to do is pay our internet provider a bit more cash (or whomever), they will not pay for individual sites per month or whatever if that becomes the thing and we'll go without internet. That clearly would mean I will not be online anymore, I will not be continuing these stories if that happens. So, short answer: I will be online still IF ONLY a bit extra money needs to be paid or if the vote fails because otherwise, I won't be seen again most likely or until sometime in the future. We'll see what happens when it happens.**

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Another bright and sunny day has come to pass. All students were within their respective schools and everything was fine, everything was dandy. Except, it wasn't fine and dandy for ten Karakura High School students. Why wasn't it fine and dandy for them? Well, the ten of them were being yelled at by a P.E. teacher for actions that were made during the Don Kanonji live show. Only thing is, three of those ten students had _actually_ done something while the others had only just been there on the sidelines during the actions of the three students. The three students that were really in trouble were Ichigo, Hana, and Rukia. Chad, Mizuiro, Keigo, Sayuri, Orihime, Tatsuki, and Yuki weren't truly at fault for anything, due to them having not been involved with what had occurred. Other students from their high school had gone to that event but none of them had actually been seen on camera so they weren't being scolded for almost no apparent reason. Anyways, all of them were standing within an office, getting yelled at by the teacher.

"Outrageous! Don't you see the damage that you kids have done?!" Mr. Kagine yelled as he scolded the ten teenagers that stood before him, the teens standing in a row with various looks on their faces. "This ridiculous show was broadcast yesterday and everyone saw three of our students there for all the world to see! Just look!" He turned on a large television that was sitting behind him and it showed what had occurred at the show, the three in question being shown quite a lot. Sitting, and standing, at a desk near Mr. Kagine, the male principal and female vice principal were listening closely. "Hanako, Ichigo, and Rukia. This is very serious. Never in the history of this school has any student ever dishonored this institution by committing such an act of civil disobedience." In mid-sentence, Mr. Kagine had grabbed onto Ichigo's collar and had gotten in his face as he spoke the rest of his words. He released his hold on him afterwards and he looked at Hana pointedly. "One of you had even been arrested and were lucky to be released."

Hana rubbed the back of her head, rolling her eyes. "Sheesh. I'm sorry my actions are so troubling for you," she sarcastically remarked. She had been the one who had been arrested. She did assault several officers with a shoe and she did resist them when they had been trying to tackle her like they had with Ichigo and Rukia. She hadn't thought about it at the time, her main focus having been on something that only she and a selected few could see: the spirit that became a hollow. After her actions, she knew of the possibility of being arrested but she didn't give a shit because that wasn't really as important as stopping the hollow that Don had accidentally created.

Tatsuki raised her right arm, raising her hand as she stared at the teacher. "Mr. Kagine?" she questioned, causing the man to look over at her in question. "Sir, I can understand why you're angry with Hanako, Ichigo, and Rukia for acting like a bunch of stupid idiots but why are Sayuri, Orihime, Yuki, and I here when we had nothing to do with this?" While they hadn't necessarily been grouped together at the show, Sayuri and Yuki (and Yuki's friend, Charna) had been located in front of Orihime and Tatsuki so Tatsuki knew for certain that neither of them had been involved, just like she and Orihime hadn't been involved in the matter too.

Mr. Kagine stared at her. "You were there with them the whole time this was going on!"

"That was just a coincidence," Tatsuki stated. "We just happened to walk by and suddenly got dragged into the whole mess." Actually, they hadn't even walked by them. In fact, the four of them had remained where they were in the crowd. Why the teacher was accusing them of not stopping their idiotic friends when they weren't even near them at the time was beyond her. It just seemed like Mr. Kagine wanted to blame everyone for the mistake Hana, Ichigo, and Rukia had made, acting as though the situation had been a large group effort.

Ichigo gritted his teeth as he glanced over at Tatsuki. He was a bit angry with her, somewhat. "Great, thanks a lot. I'll remember this the next time you need someone to bail you out." She was just going to leave him and the others in the gutter. In response, Tatsuki stuck her tongue out at him, not even caring about his words. He glared at her, not amused. Seriously? She really was going to leave them all high and dry?

"Anyway, this has been fun, Mr. Kagine, but we're going back to class if you don't mind," Tatsuki stated, her mind having automatically been on the nope train for this. She was not getting in trouble for something that only Hana, Ichigo, and Rukia did. She additionally had only Orihime's, Sayuri's, and Yuki's back because she knew they were innocent in all this. "Come on, Orihime. You too, Sayuri and Yuki." She could easily get herself out of trouble all the time, especially because she never really did anything to cause trouble. It was just as easy to get these three out of trouble, too, for the same reason. Tatsuki began to exit the office, hoping that Orihime, Sayuri, and Yuki will follow behind her soon. Orihime was the first to follow behind her, politely saying goodbye to the teacher as she bowed before she walked behind Tatsuki. Immediately afterwards, Yuki (after sharing a look with Hana to see if Hana agreed with Yuki leaving, which she did) politely said goodbye, doing as Orihime had before she grabbed Sayuri's arm and pulled her alongside her. Sayuri showed some hesitation before she reluctantly allowed herself to be dragged out of the office by Yuki, the four females (Orihime, Sayuri, Tatsuki, and Yuki) finally out of any proceeding trouble. How fortunate for them.

Keigo, seeing that the four females had successfully escaped from getting in trouble, tried to sneak his way out of being in trouble as well. "Yeah, me too," he stated as some sweat dripped from the left side of his head. He continued trying to make his way towards the door, hoping he wouldn't be stopped like the girls hadn't been stopped. "I've got some homework-" He stopped mid-sentence when the back of his collar was snatched by the teacher and he was pulled back into the line that he had been standing in. Mr. Kagine proceeded with the same reasoning he had said to Tatsuki: Keigo had been there and he hadn't stopped anything from happening. Keigo looked back towards the teacher, still being held by the back of his shirt collar. "I still don't get what the big deal is. It was just a stupid TV show."

"You don't get much, do you, mister?!" Mr. Kagine yelled as he lifted Keigo up slightly, still gripping the back of Keigo's collar. However, he released him after a few seconds. "That's the trouble with you kids these days, no awareness of the consequences of your actions! It's depressing!"

Hana nearly face-palmed because of the response that Keigo had given the teacher. "Keigo," she began as she placed her right hand on the side of her head, shaking her head ever so slightly as she felt like she was about to flip her shit. "For once in your pathetic life, stop talking." Keigo's remark wasn't doing them any favors whatsoever. In fact, it probably just made their situation worse. Why did Hana have to be friends with such an idiot?

Out of absolutely nowhere, Rukia began to cry. It seemed so realistic, to all the adults in the room. Everyone else (the students), they didn't really believe this for a second and were waiting for the adults to be distracted long enough so that they could make a break for it and get out of trouble. "I'm so sorry." She held a handkerchief to her eyes, patting her forced tears. "I really did try to stop Ichigo, but he wouldn't listen. I thought Hanako was going to help me but she only made matters worse. All they ever think about is each other and themselves. Ichigo was so obsessed with getting on television and Hana encouraged him. The whole thing's all my fault. Go ahead and punish me."

Mr. Kagine seemed to be a bit panicked. He didn't like seeing Rukia cry. "Oh. Please don't cry, Rukia." He moved to stand beside her, his attention only on her. "I understand. I'm sure you did everything you could." While his back was turned, everyone started making their way towards the windows and one of them just so happened to be open already, conveniently. Hana was the first one out of the room, followed by all of the boys. Mr. Kagine didn't realize something was up until after everyone had exited through the window. He turned around quickly, only to find that everyone was outside and they were running away. "Come back here right now! You're not getting off that easy! I know where you all live!" Mr. Kagine yelled. He turned to scold Rukia but he discovered that she was missing, her having ran off while he was distracted by the others escaping. "Oh, great. Now, Rukia Kuchiki's gotten away, too."

Far away from the office, all ten of the students had grouped up again and they were walking through the school grounds. Just like how they had stood in a line, the ten of them were now walking in a line (they were walking beside one another, apart from Chad who was walking close behind them). Keigo was praising Rukia for what happened. "That was great, Rukia. Your awesome performance got us off scott-free with no detention."

Rukia happily accepted the praise. It was actually kind of hard to tell if she actually was thankful for the praise or not. It was a bit hard to tell this when she was doing her goody two-shoes act. "Oh, you guys," she said as she placed a hand to her cheek with a smile. "It was nothing, really."

Sayuri nodded in agreement, even though she hadn't been there to witness this act. "Rukia isn't wrong, you know. Something like that is rather easy to do if you know how to cry upon seer will." She wasn't all that impressed because anyone with talent could have done it. Wasn't really something to be praised about, to be honest. Least, that is what Sayuri thought about this.

"Yeah, right," Ichigo sarcastically remarked as he looked down towards Rukia. "She was trying to sell Hana and I up the river." By this point, he assumed that Rukia was always trying to cause him or Hana trouble while at school. Any other time, he'd assume she was only trying to help but this wasn't a life or death situation so he couldn't help but believe that she was trying to cause some mischief here for them. He was just assuming this, though. It was rather possible that Rukia had indeed been trying to help everyone out and not just herself.

Hana crossed her arms as she walked alongside Ichigo, turning her head towards him. "Actually, I think Rukia was only trying to get you in trouble, Ichigo. She only mentioned me to make her story straighter and to make it much more believable." She believed that Rukia had been 'helping' for mixed reasons; reason one, Rukia had actually wanted to help out and reason two, Rukia just wanted to get Ichigo in trouble just because. Honestly, it was a bit amusing how putting the blame on others was her (Rukia) to-go-to plan for escape. Sayuri laughed slightly when she saw the look on Ichigo's face, having looked over at him to see his reaction to Hana's words; Ichigo did not look amused.

"You ought to be thanking her for helping you guys get away," Tatsuki commented to Ichigo. He simply ignored her, slash disregarded her words.

Rukia was using her goody two-shoes tone again as they all continued walking. "Actually, I rather enjoyed putting on the big act and fooling Mr. Kagine, so no thanks necessary. I would never sell out a good friend like Hana or Ichigo." She kind of had a smirk on her face as she eyed Ichigo from the corner of her eye and Ichigo grunted, gritting his teeth as he stared down at her, knowing partially that this was just part of her good girl act. Suddenly, the pager in Rukia's breast pocket began to beep and she paused her walking, glancing down towards where her pager was. Ichigo, Hana, Sayuri, and Yuki paused their movements too, followed by everyone else. Rukia and Sayuri shared a look with one another, Sayuri nodding at Rukia as they silently communicated with each other; Ichigo and Rukia could take this one on their own, mostly because it would be odd if all five of them ran off, no matter what their excuses were. Rukia looked at Ichigo, still using her good girl tone. "Oh, Ichigo, can I talk to you for a second in private?" She took a step forward before she turned towards everyone, giggling. "Could you guys excuse us for a minute?" With that, she turned around and ran off with Ichigo right behind her. Hana had a slight frown on her face but she remained put, clearly getting the message that Rukia only needed Ichigo for this one. Yuki seemed a bit confused as to why Rukia didn't want all of them going like usual but she smiled through her confusion, soon no longer slightly bothered by whatever just happened. Sayuri just remained silent, watching them. Everyone else, however, seemed rather confused by the sudden departure of the two, to an extent.

Orihime blinked as she watched Ichigo and Rukia run away. "I never noticed before but I think Rukia might like Ichigo. Or maybe Ichigo likes her. Or they could like each other. It does seem like it, doesn't it? That they have feelings for each other?" She was innocently trying to figure out what was going on and she had assumed that feelings were involved. She was completely off, however. Rukia didn't like Ichigo and Ichigo didn't like Rukia, not in that way. If anything, they were just friends and would always just be friends.

Sayuri made a face as she glanced over at Hana, wondering what Hana's reaction was. Seeing that Hana had an angry look on her face, Sayuri let out a nervous laugh before she started replying to what Orihime said. "Uh, Orihime, I really don't think that's the case for them. They're only friends who hang out sometimes. Haven't you noticed that Hana, Yuki, or myself is usually with one or both of them from time to time?"

Orihime looked over at Sayuri. "Well, yes, but that doesn't mean Rukia doesn't like him or that Ichigo doesn't like her." Fair enough.

Keigo seemed to half agree with Sayuri, to some sort of extent. "Nah, you're imagining things, Orihime. Ichigo might like Rukia but there's no way she'd be interested in him."

"There's something secretive going on between those two for sure," Mizuiro commented immediately afterwards.

This entire conversation was just getting on Hana's nerves greatly, by this point. Her anger only grew more and more, and she wasn't sure why. She stepped in front of everyone and she turned to face Ichigo's two idiotic friends. She pointed at the two of them, them being Keigo and Mizuiro (of course). Although, her words seemed to be directed towards Orihime as well and not just these two. "Didn't you idiots hear Sayuri?! They are only friends, okay?! They don't like each other so don't go assuming that they do when they are only just hanging out! You don't gossip about this shit when he is hanging out with Yuki and I haven't heard of you guys gossiping about me when I'm the one hanging out with him so don't you start this gossiping train now!" She turned on her heel and began storming away from them, whispering profanities to herself before she yelled one more time. "Goddamn idiots!" Seriously, she wasn't sure why she was so pissed off about this. She shouldn't be bothered by this sort of thing. She never had been before, she doesn't think she has anyways. She didn't like this feeling, regardless, though and she hoped that this anger, this envy, would go away soon.

Tatsuki watched as Hana disappeared into the distance. "What's her problem?" Only answer she got was a hum from Keigo. She didn't need an answer, though, since she kind of had an idea of what the problem was.

"You don't think..." Mizuiro began. He looked over at Keigo. "It couldn't be true, could it? We joked about it loads of times but what if it's actually true?" What if Hana was in love with Ichigo and him in love with her in return? He and Keigo joked about that a lot behind the two's back. What if they were right? Keigo just shrugged.

"So, Hana likes Ichigo?" Orihime questioned innocently. She let out a little squeal afterwards. "Oooh, it's a love triangle! Hana and Rukia will be fighting to the death to see who's heart really belongs to Ichigo!" She was taking this a little too far in her head. But then again, she took a lot of things too seriously. Beside her, Tatsuki was sweat dropping and shaking her head.

"Ummm..." Yuki was rather confused by Orihime's logic. Very confused by it, actually. She shook her head slightly before tilting her head to the side, revealing things that she didn't really know too much about (she didn't know if it was actually true or not). "Sure, but no matter what, please don't tell Ichigo that Hana likes him. It could ruin their friendship forever if he doesn't return those feelings." She felt that Hana and Ichigo liked, maybe even loved, each other but she also knew that maybe she has been reading too much into their actions and they could just be those certain ways with each other because they were close. Sayuri nodded in agreement with Yuki, just because. Hopefully now, the conversation would end.

Orihime saluted, making most of them want to face palm. "I promise I will never tell!" she exclaimed in a serious tone that actually didn't sound very serious because her voice was just too soft. She let out another squeal, this one being more excited-like. "I can't believe Hana is in love! I knew she'd find someone someday! She couldn't possibly be completely cut-off from romance!"

Tatsuki placed her hands on her hips, a smirk finally appearing on her face. "I knew it," she stated. She figured that those two, or one of them, had feelings for the other. "Although," she continued, her smirk dropping. "I still don't get why she likes that idiot. They're complete opposites from each other. Sort of." They both had the same temper, both seemed to care about others, and both occasionally had the same sense of humor but everything else about them seemed to be the opposite to her. She would had thought that Hana's type would be more of, well, what Chad or Uryū was; she figured Hana liked quiet or composed men but clearly, she was wrong.

"She finds Ichigo's idiotic nature to be adorable," Yuki stated, clapping her hands cheerfully. "It's so cute! I really hope they get together someday!" Now, Yuki was on the ship of Hanigo (Hana and Ichigo put together). It would be a shame if someone were to crash that ship. She hoped that no one would ruin things.

Sayuri laughed at Yuki and gave her a hug before she started dragging Yuki along with her, the two of them walking away from the group. "I think that's enough gossiping for one day. We should get going." That conversation honestly could had gone on forever and she had chosen to be the one to stop it in its tracks before it continued any further down the road. Everyone began to follow behind the two sisters, all of them heading to class. However, Chad momentarily paused and looked up to the school building on his right where he noticed that someone, Uryū, was watching them from inside a classroom. Uryū moved away from the window and Chad hummed to himself before continuing after the others.

Meanwhile, Ichigo and Rukia had gone to an alleyway, expecting to find their reported Hollow. However, the only thing they saw was the very frightened spirit that the Hollow had been chasing after. Frustrated, Ichigo questions the spirit about where the Hollow had gone and the spirit confessed that he didn't know how the Hollow had been defeated because he hadn't been paying attention, due to being scared. After annoying Ichigo and Rukia a lot, the spirit was sent away through Soul Burial. However, unbeknownst to Ichigo and Rukia, a mysterious shadowy figure was watching them from above, his glasses glowing suspiciously. What was Uryū Ishida up to...?

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 **By this point, I honestly don't remember what I wanted to happen. I know Hana and Ichigo will definitely end up together but now, I just don't know who I want Yuki to end up with. It's a tie between Gin, Toshiro, and Uryū now. I'll figure something out. Eventually. I apologize if this chapter turned out terrible. My heart isn't entirely into it anymore like it had been about...a year ago. Yes, this story was actually published in 2016 on Quotev but here, it was republished this year for more readers to see. When my bestie stopped helping me with it, I guess I kind of lost hope for the success of this fanfiction. I won't discontinue it, though. Probably. It just may be a very long time before I finish this. Honestly, if anything, it'll be the series that is discontinued and this will be the only story for it until I decide to continue it again (if I decide to discontinue the series).**

 **A/N Added: Yeah, I am discontinuing the series until further notice. Until then, I will be completing the rest of this fanfiction that follows Season One through Season Three. Least, I'm gonna try to finish this shit. Will probably take me until the end of 2018 or 2019 to finish, if nothing happens.** **But yeah, if I choose to commence writing it again, future fanfics for the series will be on here only, more than likely. We shall see what happens.**

 _Word Count: 4,305_


	14. Chapter 13: Scores

**Warning(s): Errors in Grammar, Spelling, Etc. Out-of-Character Moments. This Former Fanfiction Series Contains Original Characters. This Former Fanfiction Series Follows The English Dub Anime (Like All of My Fanfics Do). This Former Fanfiction Series Contains Original Ideas, Some Meant to be Explained in the Far Future (By This Point, Those Ideas May Never Be Explained). Don't Like Any of That, Don't Complain About It And Simply Don't Read This Damn Ridiculous Fanfic. It's That Simple. Some Scenes Have Been Left Out, Some Scenes Have Been Reworded, Some Scenes Have Added Dialogue, Etc. However, Only One Scene Is Shown Because I'm A Bit Lazy and If I Didn't Just Post This One Scene, It Would Be Weeks More Before I'd Update. There Are Differences between this chapter and the moment from the Episode. You've Been Warned, Like Always.**

 **I probably stated this before but I shall state it one more time. This fanfiction, by this point, shouldn't be taken seriously. It is based on a roleplay that my friend and I created a few years or so ago. This is probably the third time I've actually made it into a fanfiction (the others were deleted by yours truly). I only posted it just because I felt like it or at least, that is how I feel now about it. Perhaps originally, I posted this so you could see my skills of writing but now, this is just a fanfiction I am making for fun and it will definitely have moments that make no sense or have moments that have ridiculous dialogue. It's not actually meant to be loved by anyone but myself and my friend so if you like it, thanks for being interested by this. If you hate this, I don't really blame you for that, my friend, and you can complain about it all you wish. In fact, do exactly that. I'd love to hear complains or praise. Whichever is fine. Silent readers, yeah I'm finally calling you out since I don't think I've done such before. No one is a big fan of you guys, if I'm honest. We love that you are reading and are staying for whatever reason BUT we're bigger fans of those who actually review. No offense. Still love you.**

 **Enjoy your reading, if you are actually reading and enjoying this random ass fanfiction. I tried to make this professional, really I did, but now, it's just a fanfiction that has whatever happening within it and it'll remain as descriptive I can make it. The series is still discontinued until further notice. Thank you for your time.**

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Back at Karakura High, many students were gathered around in a hallway. All of them were looking forward, and dreading, to see the scores of an academic assessment that had taken place some time ago. Many would likely groan in displeasure, others may not care too much for their scores, and few might cheer for their own success. Grouped up in front of the sheet that was tapped to the wall, Orihime and her three friends were staring at the name that had been placed at third on the ranking list, that name being Orihime's. Standing directly behind the four of them was Sayuri, Yuki, and Hana. Sayuri was uncaring about the scores, Yuki was almost as dimwitted as usual, and Hana was bored, despite her rank of being fifth. She was occasionally lazy with schoolwork but she sure as hell knew how to score high on assessments. Lucky her. Too bad Yuki ranked first, making her smarter by default.

"I ranked fifth, huh?" Hana mumbled to herself, not expecting anyone to hear her speaking to herself. She scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Big deal. I could've ranked higher if I had actually been trying." She honestly hadn't even tried to pass but considering she knew a lot of shit from when she use to study all the time like a nerd, she ended up getting a high score on the assessment anyways. It really wasn't that big of a deal. There was nothing that she'd use that score for. She didn't care for getting a job because being half Soul Reaper was her job. Daily, if she felt like it, she'd help Ichigo and Rukia with hunting down, and getting rid, of Hollows. When she didn't feel like it, either Yuki or Sayuri, sometimes both and sometimes neither, would go to help the two out with the problem.

Sayuri looked over at her and her eyes were wide for a moment. "You ranked fifth without even trying?" she questioned. Hana looked towards her and she nodded shortly, an eyebrow raised as she waited for Sayuri to continue speaking since she knew she wasn't finished. Sayuri began to smile as an impressed expression appeared on her face. "Damn, I'm actually really impressed by that. Good work." She was surprised that Hana could get high scores without lifting an actual finger to get them. That's pretty awesome in her book.

Keigo and Mizuiro suddenly appeared within the crowd in the hallway, the two of them pushing through until they were standing right in front of the assessment scores instead of the girls. Ichigo and Chad approached the crowd seconds later, Ichigo placing himself beside Hana while Chad stood beside and in front of Ichigo. Hana nodded at him in acknowledgement and he did the same in return. Sayuri and Yuki watched this short encounter, both of them looking at one another afterwards and they both smiled knowingly at each other; those two definitely were in love with each other, so badly that they could hardly stay away from one another for long. The siblings looked away from one another when Keigo began to speak, both of them looking towards the back of his head in slight interest. "Whoa," Keigo had remarked about the scores. Seconds later, he continued after skimming through them. "Aww, let the girls get their high scores. At least none of our gang embarrassed us by making it to the top fifty."

Hana didn't seem to be pleased with hearing this comment. "Excuse you, straw for brains," she practically growled. Keigo looked towards her. "Are you saying that Yuki and I aren't a part of this little 'gang' you speak of? Not at all? Even with us having known your for a long while?" Each time she asked a question, Keigo would nod without fear. Hana glared at him and it took ever fiber of her being to not kill him. He was constantly leaving her and Yuki out of things, constantly acting as if the two females weren't friends with him and the others. "And yet, you allow Rukia and Sayuri into 'your' little group of manliness. Typical."

Mizuiro pointed towards the assessment scores, pointing at one side of the list. "Take another look at this, Keigo." He had spotted something that Keigo had clearly missed and it was something that would make Keigo's words invalid, in a sense.

"Hmm?" Keigo looked away from Hana and he looked towards where Mizuiro was pointing. "W-W-W-What?! Ichigo is ranked number twenty-three?!" He was having a major freak-out moment. Never, never did he think that Ichigo would rank higher than fifty. This was unspeakable. This was forbidden in their guy gang. This was not great.

Hana looked over at Ichigo, ignoring Keigo's little meltdown that was beginning. His freak-out moments didn't mean shit because he'd forgive and forget the shit that he shouldn't need to forgive in the first place. She smiled at Ichigo as he looked towards her questionably. "Great job, Ichigo. You did really well." She lightly punched his shoulder, light blush unknowingly forming in her cheeks. She was proud of him, very proud of him. Maybe too proud. She had been at his home most days and from time to time, he'd be studying and occasionally, she'd help him with studying. So, him getting a great score was kind of a group effort, in a way. Probably. She'll pretend it was, if it actually wasn't.

Ichigo smiled back and a tiny hint of blush appeared in his own cheeks. "Thank you, but you did a better job than me, Hana. Ranked fifth. That's very impressive." Hana smiled at him more before she looked away from him, her large smile remaining on her face. Ichigo stared at her for a moment, going into some sort of daze unknowingly before he snapped himself back into reality and he looked over at Sayuri and Yuki, finding that Sayuri was smirking at him and Yuki was grinning to herself as she clapped her hands together happily. He glared at Sayuri for her assumption (that she wasn't making known aloud) before he looked at Yuki. "You too, Yuki. Ranked first. Now, that is really impressive," he complimented, not wanting to leave her out of this.

Yuki continued to grin as she looked at Ichigo. "Thank you, Ichi!" she cheered. She was proud of herself and she knew, for sure, that her sister was very proud of her as well. She aimed to please her sibling. For a split second, her smile nearly faltered as she thought about when Sayuri would be leaving to go back to the Soul Society to be with their father but she immediately pushed that thought away. She'd spend as much time as possible with her sibling while she could. Their separate was inevitable but she was going to be around Sayuri while she could and she was gonna help her out while she was around, help her with Hollows and stuff.

Sayuri wrapped her arms around Yuki and she started smiling herself. "I'm the proudest of Yuki right now. My little sister is better than all of us. She grew up to be so frickin' smart! I think I might cry!" Yuki began to giggle as Sayuri squeezed her tightly in her grasp. "Oh, little Yuki! Precious little Yuki! Teach me the ways of the knowledge that's within your brain! Teach me!" Yuki giggled out an 'okay' and Sayuri laughed a bit herself as she removed her arms from Yuki. "I owe you cookies." Immediately, Yuki cheered and Sayuri laughed more, shaking her head slightly.

Within mere seconds, Keigo was suddenly in Ichigo's face with his complaining about Ichigo being ranked above fifty. Fake, or perhaps real, tears were streaming out of Keigo's eyes. "You cheater! There's no way you could've possibly scored that high!" With how his personality was, it was hard to tell sometimes when Keigo _actually_ was offended by things.

Ichigo stared back at Keigo blankly. His good mood had vanished momentarily, him already fed up with Keigo's 'complaining'. "Cut it out, Keigo. I get high scores on tests because I study for them." And during some of those study sessions, Hana would help out a bit. "You should try it sometime." Or maybe Keigo should get a study partner like Yuki or someone else who scored rather high. Hana was a definite no because sometimes, Hana couldn't stand Keigo and also, Hana was Ichigo's study partner.

Keigo pointed accusingly at Ichigo, more tears (of some sort) streaming down his face. "A-ha! So, that's what you've been doing all those nights I was asking you to come hang out! You always said you were too busy, but the truth is you were studying like a total nerd!" Dramatically slow-mo running away from Ichigo, the tears were letting up but not stopping fully as he continued complaining. By this point, it was really hard to tell if he was serious about being offended by Ichigo's scores or he was just joking around; both mannerisms were too close to being the same that it was hard to make out the difference. "Oh, no! I'm friends with a nerd!" Actually, he was friends with multiple nerds but he only seemed to be acknowledging Ichigo right now. Additionally, it could be that Keigo just really liked messing with Hana about her and Yuki not being considered his friends, just so he could get a rise out of her for amusement. Keigo quickly re-approached Ichigo, after moving away from him slightly and he started joking around more obviously. He had glasses on, all of a sudden. He had put them on so quickly that Hana was curious if he had pulled them out of his ass and Yuki was confused about everything that was going on with Keigo since he often confused her. Sayuri seemed amused by what she was witnessing, though. "Maybe you need some thick nerd glasses like these, pal," Keigo told Ichigo as he got in Ichigo's face again.

Ichigo hit Keigo in the face, giving him a bloody nose and causing one of the lens of the glasses to break. "No thanks," he replied immediately in a dull tone. He didn't have time for Keigo's nonsense right now. For once, he'd like to have a break from Keigo's antics about absolutely anything and everything. Was that too much to ask?

"It's a bit of a surprise to learn you really study," Mizuiro butted in, becoming a part of the rather dumb conversation.

"My hair gets me enough abuse," Ichigo explained, his attention away from Keigo. While he was responding to Mizuiro, his attention was now towards the scores again. Hana remained standing beside him but everyone else seemed to have maneuvered around. Orihime, Tatsuki, Chizuru, and an additional friend of Orihime's were no longer in the crowd, Keigo and Mizuiro both were standing near Ichigo now, and the twins were now standing somewhere behind Ichigo and Hana. "I'm not gonna be an academic loser on top of it," Ichigo continued.

His words had caught Hana's attention. Although, most of his words tended to grab her attention. "I really don't see why people still dislike your hair color. No one seems to give a shit about my hair color or Yuki's hair color anymore, so why people continue on causing you trouble because of your own odd colored hair is something that continues to both annoy me and confuse me." Hana had gotten some shit from her having red hair but it faded after a while. With Yuki, she had some shit happen to her because of her white hair but that ended after Ichigo and Hana protected her from further damage after those certain bullies had gotten ahold of her, those bullies being why Yuki had a scar across her eye. "I think your hair is awesome regardless of its color."

"I know, Hana." Ichigo glances over at Hana again, a smile on his face again except it wasn't a full smile and was more of a half smile this time. "You tell me this all the time." And that wasn't a lie at all. Hana was constantly bringing up how much she liked his hair, every time his hair was brought up in a conversation. It seemed like she always had the need to assure him that someone thought his hair was fantastic and not freaky.

Hana blushed very slightly once again as she looked over at him finally, her attention having had been on the scores. "Shut up. It's not my fault that I'll always and forever say what's true. Your hair is awesome. And cool, also." She stuck her tongue out at him when he turned his head towards her fully and she was surprised when he suddenly grabbed onto her tongue with his left hand. "Ewh?! Lwt gwo!" It was rather hard to speak when your tongue was being held onto. Ichigo shook his head, smirking at her and Hana began slapping at Ichigo's hand, whining as she hit him with medium force (not too hard and not too light hits). Ichigo held back a laugh as he finally released Hana's tongue and she pouted at him with a hint of a forming grin on her lips.

Keigo suddenly continued onward with the complaining and teasing he had been doing. He moved so that he stood in front of Chad as the crowd became nothing but their small group. He elbowed Chad in the abdomen as he continued onward with whatever he (Keigo) was doing. "Well, at least you wouldn't go and do something embarrassing like score in the top fifty, right, Chad, old pal?" In response, Chad pointed towards the list and right there in front of the small group of friends, Chad pointed out that he was ranked number eleven without saying an actual word. Keigo and Mizuiro both made faces of horror as they both freaked out this time. "I am horrified! I had no idea I was hanging out with complete geeks! I'm through with all of you!" Together, Keigo and Mizuiro sprinted down the hallway together.

Hana rolled her eyes as she watched the two run away. "Damn morons. They'll be back eventually and I dread for the moment when that occurs." She was gonna to enjoy their absence while it lasted. Even she needed some time away from those idiots sometimes. She'd go insane otherwise.

Ichigo scratched, slash rubbed, the back of his head as he, too, watched the idiots run away. "I guess it's lucky for him that it was Yuki who ended up in the number one spot." He looked towards the scores, looking towards where the first ranking was but he found himself to be surprised when he noticed that it wasn't just Yuki's name that was listed there. "Who's Ametasu Ishida? I've never even heard of him." Hell, he never even heard of the possibility of two students being listed in the first ranking with test scores. This was a first for him witnessing that kind of thing.

"That's Uryū, Uryū Ishida," Yuki informed Ichigo with a slight frown. How come Ichigo didn't know who that was? The male was in their class after all. Did he really not know who that was? Maybe he was just distracted that he wasn't thinking clearly.

Sayuri blinked before she looked at the scores herself. She hadn't even noticed that before. She had only seen Yuki's name because Yuki's score was all she had cared about. "Yuki, isn't that your boyfriend you were talking to the other day? The one with the glasses? You know, the guy that you want to be 'friends' with? Father of your future children?" She was half teasing and half being completely serious. Seeing that Uryū was as smart as Yuki, perhaps the two of them really were meant for each other. Well, actually, Sayuri just really wanted to see Yuki get a boyfriend and this Uryū fellow seemed like the best candidate so far.

Yuki blushed quite a bit as she pouted. "He isn't my boyfriend, Sayu! I thought I told you that already. I just wish to be his friend. He doesn't seem to have many, therefore I wish to become a friend of his and I wanna be nice to him since no one else seems to what to talk to him. Is that such a wrong thing to do?" She started frowning again. To her, it seemed like most people avoided Uryū and she had seen very few of his interactions with other students, but those interactions weren't long and they seemed forced. She was hoping to change that. Maybe if someone were to talk to him very often, whether he liked it or not, maybe he'd grow to be more... Maybe he wouldn't be so rude during conversations if he had an actual friend.

"Of course not," Sayuri sighed, crossing her arms. "But, it does seem like the two of you may be perfect for each other, despite your opposite personalities. I could be wrong, though. Actually, I'm just being hopeful because I want my twin to have a boyfriend, slash future husband." Yuki blushed a bit more and Sayuri grinned, pleased with herself. She had done her job with slightly embarrassing her sibling.

"You two know him?" Ichigo questioned out of curiosity, looking at the twins. Neither twin acknowledged him because the two were in their own little world.

Hana stared at Ichigo questionably, her having acknowledged him once again. "Dude, we all know him. He's in our class." Immediately, Ichigo let out an odd noise as a horrified look appeared on his face and Hana started laughing at him. "Dude, really? You actually forgot who he was? _Wow_." She should probably be surprised that he forgot someone's name and face but actually, she wasn't surprised at all. He was always hanging out within his own inner circle so it was no shocker that he couldn't recall Uryū.

"Is he seriously in our class?" Ichigo asked Hana as he looked at her again. "Or are you playing a trick on me?" There was no way he could've forgotten someone.

Hana nodded. "Yes, he is. You just migrate to where Keigo, Chad, and Mizuiro are in class that you don't really pay attention to anyone else." She wasn't incorrect about that; Ichigo did tend to just hang out with certain people all the time.

Ichigo gestured at Hana as the horrified expression vanished from his face. "I pay attention to you, don't I? And Yuki." And Rukia. And Sayuri also. Hana mumbled 'true' before she explained that each of them were technically a part of Ichigo's inner circle too, which caused Ichigo to make another face about forgetting someone. Seconds later, Rukia was running down the hallway and she grabbed onto Ichigo's hand, pulling him along with her as she continued running. Even though they didn't need to follow them to help out, since the two didn't need help with Hollows all the time, the twins and Hana followed after the two, sprinting down the hallway with them. Hana quickly caught up with Ichigo and Rukia within seconds, and as they ran down the hallway with Sayuri and Yuki some ways behind them, the three of them ran by Uryū. Ichigo accidentally bumped into Uryū and he mumbled a quick half-assed apology as he continue running with Hana and Rukia.

As Uryū continued walking down the hallway without a word while he fixed his sleeve, Sayuri and Yuki were running towards him. However, while Sayuri ran by Uryū and continued running, Yuki paused her movement when she was a little ways past him and she turned to face him as he continued walking onward towards wherever he was going. She had noticed Ichigo bumping into Uryū, despite how far behind she and Sayuri had been, and she wanted to apology correctly for Ichigo. "I'm really sorry about Ichigo bumping into you without warning. He can be rude sometimes, especially when he is in a hurry." She frowned slightly when she noticed that Uryū made no signs that he was listening and that he was going to continue walking without acknowledging her words if he had even heard her. She tilted her head slightly and she spoke once more (and quickly), hoping that he wasn't too far away to hear her. "It's rather impressive that you ranked first. I did so, too, surprisingly. I am usually a few points behind you." Uryū paused his walking after just hearing her first sentence but he didn't turn to face her, nor did he speak up. Nonetheless, the fact that he finally acknowledged her made Yuki smile. "Maybe we can hang out sometime or be study buddies. I think it would be fun but if you don't want to, that's fine too. It won't make me stop from communicating with you. I shall see you around, Uryū!" Turning on her heel, she sprinted after the others. Unbeknownst to her, Uryū had turned his head to watch her run off before he continued walking down the hallway...

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 **The following chapter will be the remainder of episode 11. See ya then.**

 **Word Count: 4,109**


	15. Chapter 14: Friendship, Maybe?

**Warning(s): Errors in Grammar, Spelling, Etc. Out-of-Character Moments. This Former Fanfiction Series Contains Original Characters. This Former Fanfiction Series Follows The English Dub Anime (Like All of My Fanfics Do). This Former Fanfiction Series Contains Original Ideas, Some Meant to be Explained in the Far Future (By This Point, Those Ideas May Never Be Explained). Don't Like Any of That, Don't Complain About It And Simply Don't Read This Damn Ridiculous Fanfic. It's That Simple. Some Scenes Have Been Left Out, Some Scenes Have Been Reworded, Some Scenes Have Added Dialogue, Etc. Short Chapter, Just Like The Last, And I'm Sorry About That!**

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Later that very day when the sun was no longer in the sky (and the sun had been replaced by the moon), Ichigo and Rukia had found themselves standing in an empty street with no Hollow in sight. Hana, Sayuri, and Yuki were not with them because it wasn't really necessary for all of them to be facing simple Hollows by this point. It made sense for them to switch out, take turns dealing with Hollows, but it was stupid for all of them to go and face just _one_ Hollow together that could easily be taken care of by one person. Anyways, Ichigo and Rukia were alone in the street, and Ichigo was complaining to Rukia about how she needed to fix her phone because no Hollows were there and Rukia bickered back while Ichigo returned to his body. Suddenly, Uryū Ishida walked up to them as they bickered, wearing an all white attire, and he informed them that he knew what they were. Shortly after that, he showed off his own skills by being able to sense a Hollow before it appeared and he additionally was able to point out its location when it finally did appear. After that, and after he used a blue archer's bow made entirely out of spirit energy to get rid of the Hollow before Ichigo and Rukia could take care of it, he informed them both about what he was (a Quincy) and revealed that he demised them (Soul Reapers), especially (and specifically) Ichigo.

Currently, it was the next day and it was well into said day. He was walking down the school hallway, walking alone since his closest friends and his best friends were nowhere in sight at that moment. " _Damn, what's the story with that guy?"_ Ichigo thought angry, full of resentment towards the guy in question. He clenched his teeth angrily. " _Who does he think he is, insulting me like that? I'll mess him up the next time I see him. Besides, who uses a bow and arrow anymore?"_ He paused his walking, a scowl on his face as he tried to remember the guy's name. "What's his name?" He glanced to the side, thinking hard about it. "Uh, Mac? No, I think it was Iki-something." He placed a hand to his chin, unaware that Orihime and Yuki were approaching him from behind. "Ikibo? Ikimo? Metasu? Ichi-Ichiarmadillo! Nah, that's not it either. Damn it!"

Yuki burst into laughter as Orihime spoke to Ichigo, the two of them now standing behind Ichigo. "Do you mean Uryū Ishida?" Ichigo blinked as he looked towards them, sweat dropping from the side of his forehead; he hadn't expected anyone to sneak up on him, especially them. Orihime smiled a him when he said yeah. "It's a pretty cool name, huh?" Orihime asked him, innocent to the ways of Ichigo.

"Uh..." Ichigo suddenly placed himself in a rather odd posture, his finger pointing up towards the ceiling as he stared at Orihime and Yuki. Yuki's laughter had died down and she was smiling, shaking her head slightly at him. Orihime smiled at Ichigo with her eyes closed. "Yeah! I was just saying it because it's such a cool sounding name!" Ichigo exclaimed, lying to avoid suspicion.

Orihime began doing the same thing that Ichigo was doing, her eyes still closed. Yuki giggled at her. "I agree. In fact, I say his name to myself all the time when I'm sitting with him in the home handicrafts club."

"Home handy what?!" Ichigo exclaimed, in complete disbelief upon hearing this information. Maybe he heard wrong. Maybe he needed to clean his ears. But alas, he heard correctly because sure enough, the three of them were peeking into the club's classroom. Uryū was sitting to the left of three female students, being silent while reading a book of sorts. While Ichigo continued to disbelieve what he was seeing, a classmate approached Uryū with a torn stuffed animal, in which he repaired in a quick and proficient manner before he rudely dismissed the female. During that time, Hana had appeared behind Orihime, Ichigo, and Yuki unknowingly, and she watched Uryū with slight fascination. When that was over with, Ichigo stepped away from the door and he bumped into Hana, yelping as he spun around. "You scared the crap outta me, Hana!" he yelled, glaring at her.

Hana laughed at him as she shook her head. "Sorry." She nodded towards Yuki, whom was heading into the classroom. "What's Yuki up to?" she asked Orihime and Ichigo. "Does she participate in this club, too?" Orihime shook her head and Hana raised an eyebrow. "Then, I wonder what she's up to." Orihime hushed her as she spied on Yuki, whom was approaching Uryū. Hana grew quiet as she shrugged, grabbing Ichigo's arm as she made him stay to watch.

Yuki grinned as she stopped in front of Uryū's desk and she greeted him kindly. Uryū looked up, annoyed that she was bothering him. He didn't want to be bothered. "What do you want this time?" he asked her, his annoyance obvious in his tone. However, Yuki didn't seem phased by his rudeness; instead, she stated with a smile that the two of them should be friends. Uryū disagreed with her. "We're enemies," he stated. He knew that she was a Soul Reaper as well, along with Hana. He knew a lot of things, actually.

Yuki shook her head at him, her smile not faltering. "No, we aren't. I am aware of the encounter between you, Ichigo, and Rukia that occurred last night, but I must inform you that you are mistaken with what Hana and myself are. It's not like we chose to be who we are." Uryū blinked as his eyes narrowed; he wasn't aware of that. "We were born into this. Half and half. It's rather frustrating sometimes, but we make it work." Yuki shifted on her feet for a moment before she thought about something. "Oh! My sister, Sayu, is all Reaper, though. She died when we were little and she grew up or something in the Soul Society to be a Soul Reaper. Because of that, she and I were able to reunite again." She, then, trailed off of the topic. "You know that you're being spied on, correct? By Hana, Ichigo, and Orihime. Don't be mad at them. They're just curious."

"I'm aware," Uryū answered after a moment. His eyes were no longer narrowed at her and he was no longer as annoyed with her as he had been when she first spoke to him.

"Can I walk with you after school?" Yuki asked. "I'm sure you'd like to have some company for once."

For once, Uryū was visually flabbergasted. Additionally, he was blushing a little bit as he glanced away from her. He even lowered his book to the desk. "...You just don't know when to give up, do you?" he asked her after another moment had passed by. He hadn't been expecting her to ask him that. That was also the first time someone had asked him that. Well, the first time in a long time. Yuki giggled and answered with a happy 'nope', her smile remaining on her face. Uryū looked at her again, the blush still in his cheeks. "...Very well," he responded, answering her question about her walking with him after school.

Yuki clapped in excitement. She was unaware that all the students within the classroom were staring at her and Uryū. Least those students hadn't heard the conversation fully. "Great! I'm glad we're friends, Uryū! We have loads to talk about! I'll see you later on, okay? I'll meet you out front! Bye, bye!" She skipped away from his desk, skipping out into the hallway as she passed Orihime, Hana, and Ichigo. Orihime seemed excited, Hana seemed a bit happy, and Ichigo seemed horrified.

"I'm not letting you walk with him!" Ichigo exclaimed as he caught Yuki by the arm a bit roughly. "He's insane! He could hurt you!" He was being a protective best/good friend.

"Ichi, I doubt he'll lay a hand on me," Yuki told him. "He doesn't seem the type to harm a female. I think he's just misunderstood by you and others. He likes to keep to himself but I think he's really lonely and I think maybe he has always wanted some friends but never thought about acting on those feelings of want. I'll be fine. I'll see you and Hana later." With that, Yuki walked off with Orihime following behind her.

"I don't think it's a bad thing," Hana commented, making Ichigo look at her with a horrorstuck expression. She stared at him blankly. "Oh, don't give me that look. Yuki can make friends with whomever she wants. Maybe this will be a good thing. I think that perhaps something from his past influenced him into believing that all Soul Reapers are scum. Maybe Yuki can make him see that he's been wrong about that all this time."

Ichigo scoffed. "Yeah, maybe, or he could seriously hurt her. I don't trust him." He didn't bother waiting for Hana to answer him. He walked away from her and she sighed, slowly following behind him...

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 **The next chapter will be the entire challenge thing episodes (including the rest of the eleventh episode) but obviously, some scenes will be taken out (such as the scenes with Orihime and Chad, but they will be mentioned). It may also be mostly just action based with little dialogue. We'll see when we get there. See ya next time.**

 _Word Count: 1,768_


	16. Sorry, Not Sorry - AN

This is not an update.

This is an author's note.

I know this isn't exactly something that should belong here, but I needed some sort of way to inform you all of the discontinuation of both this series and this fanfiction.

I have lost complete interest in creating this fanfiction and I have lost _almost_ all interest in making fanfics for anime shows that last for too long. In the future, there will be a few more anime fanfics coming from me, but they will merely be for Durarara and/or Ouran High School Host Club.

I am sorry, and not sorry, to have to inform you all of this. I am grateful for the few of you that had chosen to favorite or follow this story. Same for the few that left a review.

There is a possibility that I will eventually return to this series, but do not get your hopes up. It's merely a maybe or maybe not thing.

Thank you and good day.


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